14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has talked about his charity efforts and the education reform during a speech at the Concordia College in Moorhead, but he also revealed some pretty interesting details about his early career.
Gates told the audience that one of the things he hated the most during his early years as a Microsoft CEO was to decide whether some of the employees should be let go or not, handing over the task to some other executives.
While this is pretty surprising for the man who’s now the second richest person in the entire world, it might also be pretty good news for Steve Ballmer, the current Microsoft CEO that’s often criticized for the way he manages the tech giant.
Some sources familiar with the matter hinted that replacing Ballmer at the helm of Microsoft was one of the priorities for ValueAct Capital, the new investor that recently purchased a $2 billion (€1.5 billion) stake in the software giant.
Steve Ballmer, on the other hand, previously explained that he wanted to remain a Microsoft CEO until 2017 or 2018, despite all rumors that he might retire a bit earlier due to the slow uptake of the company’s new products.
Ballmer was the main executive who came under fire after the launch of Windows 8 and the Surface tablet, with both products facing an avalanche of criticism from ex-Microsofties and Windows users alike.
No details on Windows 8’s sales performance have been provided so far, but company insiders reveal that Steve Ballmer and other high-profile Microsoft executives are not at all pleased with the current uptake of the operating system.
Blamed for the poor sales of Windows 8, Steve Ballmer has no reason to go, Bill Gates said in an interview a few months ago, expressing his support for his friend who took over the company’s leadership in January 2000.