The outgoing CEO might remain a member of the company board

Oct 7, 2013 12:28 GMT  ·  By

Steve Ballmer will give up on his Microsoft CEO seat as soon as a successor is found and even though many people were pleased with his resignation, it turns out that he won’t leave the company completely.

Microsoft’s 2013 proxy statement revealed that the company’s directors consider both Ballmer and co-founder Bill Gates as two candidates for seats on the board, even though such a proposal might not sit well with some shareholders.

Word is that three of the top Microsoft investors are also trying to pressure Bill Gates to resign from his position as company chairman, so seeing him and Ballmer re-elected could cause more internal tension within the software giant.

As for Steve Ballmer’s resignation, word is that a public announcement on this is expected to be made by the end of the year, with sources familiar with the matter indicating that Ford’s CEO Alan Mulally and former Nokia boss Stephen Elop are in pole position to take over the vacant seat.

It appears that several internal candidates are also considered for the job, but only little has been said until now on what Microsofties could be the next CEO.

Bill Gates hasn’t commented too much on his friend’s departure from Microsoft, as he is now part of a newly-founded committee in charge of finding a new CEO.

“As a member of the succession planning committee, I’ll work closely with the other members of the board to identify a great new CEO,” said Gates. “We’re fortunate to have Steve in his role until the new CEO assumes these duties.”

People familiar with the matter, on the other hand, revealed that Ballmer has actually lost Gates’ support following the poor performance of Windows 8 and the first-generation Surface tablet and, under the pressure of ValueAct Capital, he decided to let him go.