Microsoft’s outgoing CEO talks about the time spent at the helm of the company

Dec 11, 2013 23:11 GMT  ·  By

Steve Ballmer will soon leave Microsoft, so the outgoing CEO now has more time to talk about the 13 years spent at the helm of the Redmond-based tech giant.

In an interview with ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, Ballmer explained that Microsoft had managed to build at least three tricks, which is how he refers to products such as Windows and Office.

“Most companies in an industry do a trick and they're finished, and then they sort of fade out,” Ballmer said during the interview.

“We've built what I would call at least three tricks. Windows and Office was kind of a trick and our enterprise business is kind of a trick, and Xbox. A trick is sort of a success. Most companies in our industry sort of do one. We've done three. They've gone through wild rides. And we haven't just faded away. We've gone through the wild ride and come through it.”

Ballmer will leave the company as soon as a successor is found, with people familiar with the matter saying that Ford’s CEO Alan Mulally and cloud boss Satya Nadella are the leading candidates for the job.