14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft continues the search for a new CEO, with a new report now revealing that at least 3 investors are hoping to bring Ford’s Alan Mulally on board.
Citing sources who asked not to be named, Reuters is claiming that Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Computer Sciences CEO Mike Lawrie are very likely to join the race for the Microsoft CEO seat, as board members are asking the committee in charge of discussing with candidates to place them on the shortlist.
It appears that Microsoft has come down to 40 different candidates, both internal and external, but Mulally, Lawrie, and former Nokia boss Stephen Elop are said to be in pole-position for the job.
Alan Mulally, 68, is one of the top executives that helped Ford get back on track and cope with the economic recession that hit the Detroit Three in 2009.
The former Boeing engineer said recently that he wanted to stay with Ford until at least 2014, but it appears that the automaker’s board could let him go in case a better offer is received in the meantime.
Microsoft recently announced that current CEO Steve Ballmer would retire within the next 12 months, even though the company has started a major transformation process that’s supposed to help it fully embrace a devices and services approach.
At the same time, Redmond has purchased Nokia’s mobile division, a new acquisition that could support Microsoft’s expansion efforts in the mobile market.
As part of the deal, Stephen Elop, a former Microsoft CEO and Nokia boss, is coming back to the tech giant, with people familiar with the matter now claiming that he could be soon appointed the next CEO.
No official details have been released until now, but rumor has it that Microsoft is set to announce the Ballmer successor by the end of the year.