From July 2008, while continuing as the chairman of Microsoft, Gates will step down from his post as the chief software architect.
Says he will carry on for at least a decade more at the company
MUMBAI: It’s no surprise that Steve Ballmer, the oldest managerial level employee at Microsoft and the first man other than a founder or relative of a founder of any company to have become a billionaire on stock options, should be emotional about Microsoft founder and long-time friend Bill Gates going into semi-retirement in some months.
From July 2008, while continuing as the chairman of Microsoft, Gates will step down from his post as the chief software architect.
“It’s not just the emotional aspect of Bill not being at the company. It’s also the practical aspect,” Ballmer said at a conference organised by Red Herring, a Belmont, California-based media outfit focused on technology and innovation.
“While I have been the people manager, Bill has been the thought leader at Microsoft,” he added.
The friendship between Ballmer and Gates is well-documented. Ballmer met Gates at Harvard University in the mid-1970s.
While the former graduated with a degree in mathematics and economics, Gates dropped out to devote all his energies to the company, Microsoft, he had founded with childhood friend Paul Allen in 1975.
Ballmer, meanwhile did a two-year stint with Procter & Gamble, before going on to pursue an MBA from Stanford. This time, it was Ballmer’s turn to drop out, from Stanford, to join Microsoft.
Asked if he would also consider retirement, now that his friend was calling it a day, Ballmer said: “It would be bad for the institution (Microsoft) if both of us were to leave together.
Of course, there are many companies that have done great things without their founders. There are also those that have broken after their founders’ departure.
We have tried to learn the best lessons from these organisations’ failures, and have concluded that those that have gone down after their founders are those that do not realise the need for the continual rebirth of the organisation.”
For all practical purposes, Ballmer is also a founder member of Microsoft. He says he’s going to work for the company for at least 10 more years. “I have an eight-year-old son, and I would not think of retiring till it’s time for him to go to college.”
It’s not that Ballmer needs the money. In 2007, he was ranked 31st in Forbes’ list of world’s billionaires, with an estimated wealth of $15 billion.
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