The last few months have been interesting for Microsoft. In August, Microsoft announced that longtime CEO, Steve Ballmer will be “retiring”. The retiring in all honesty reads like a revolt against him that was driven by shareholders. Ballmer got the keys to the Microsoft kingdom from Bill Gates in January 2000, but in reality did nothing to build on the momentum that the Microsoft founder left. Think about it – what did Ballmer do?
Ballmer’s replacement will be a sign to shareholders – and the entire technology industry – what Microsoft has planned for the next 2 to 5 years. Are they looking at a turnaround specialist like Alan Mulally, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ford Motor Company, that did something akin to a business turnaround at Ford. His lack of knowledge in the technology space may be an issue, but he clearly is in the running to become Microsoft CEO. The question has to be asked – what role does Bill Gates play in this CEO hunt? It seems to be something that is being kept very secret by Microsoft..
Nokia CEO, Stephan Elop, is supposedly also still a possible candidate for the role. Elop ensured that Microsoft could acquire Nokia, but earlier in the week he made some interesting suggestions on possible changes he would make if he becomes CEO. He would sell Bing (suddenly – the search engine could become an acquisition target), he would also make Xbox a separate entity – and this suggestion is the one that I think has massive implications if it does occur. The one consistent performer for Microsoft has been the Xbox business. Is this a case of cashing in or trying to refocus Microsoft? Maybe he’s challenging Wall Streets reaction. Who knows – considering that its all hearsay, for now.
Microsoft faces challenging times ahead, but most importantly the impending decision of the next CEO, which will ultimately define an unforetold future.
