14 DAY TRIAL // Ford’s CEO Alan Mulally is currently considered one of the leading candidates for Microsoft’s CEO position, along with former Nokia boss Stephen Elop and several internal executives
But as far as Mulally is concerned, jumping ship and joining Microsoft isn’t quite what he wants to do in the near future, so he’ll stay with Ford for a little bit longer.
Ford’s CEO says in an interview with USA Today that he only wants to continue serving Ford for the time being, which means that a switch to Microsoft is pretty much impossible right now.
"I love serving Ford and have nothing new to add to (my) plans to continue serving Ford," he was quoted as saying.
Mulally has admitted, however, that Microsoft is a “great company” and a “great company,” as the two companies have worked together SYNC, an infotainment system that’s now installed on a big number of Ford models.
Microsoft, on the other hand, has put Mulally on the shortlist anyway and according to a Bloomberg report, Redmond could start negotiations with the Ford CEO in the near future.
At this point, there are only a few people on Microsoft’s list with CEO candidates, so in case talks with Mulally fail, Stephen Elop could be the one to take over from Ballmer.
As far as Microsoft’s outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer is concerned, he recently announced that he would retire within the next 12 months, as soon as a successor is found.
Ballmer recently held his last speech as a Microsoft CEO, explaining that the tech giant is set to “deliver the next big thing” and the transition to devices and services would continue no matter who replaces him. According to people familiar with the matter, Microsoft is very likely to announce its new CEO by the end of the year.