14 DAY TRIAL // On the heels of the official confirmation that Bruce Jaffe, Corporate Vice President, Corporate Development, will be leaving the company, Microsoft has publicly announced the retirement and transition plan for Jeff Raikes, President of its Business Division. It appears that 2008 is a transition year for the Redmond company. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has entered his transition period out of his day-to-day role since 2006, and he will effectively retire in the summer of this year. In a similar move, Raikes has also entered into a transition of nine months. The President of the Microsoft Business Division will completely retire in September 2008, by which time he would finish transferring the management of the division and his responsibilities to his successor.
"Since 1981, I've had an incredible journey here at Microsoft. Given the success of our business and the depth of leadership we have in place today, the time is right for me to leave the MBD business in the capable hands of our new generation of leaders. I remain committed to Microsoft and will work full time between now and September when I retire. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to working closely with Stephen and the MBD leadership team to ensure a smooth transition", Raikes revealed.
After 26 years with Microsoft, Raikes will leave his position to Stephen Elop, formerly chief operating officer (COO) at Juniper Networks. The fact that a transition plan is in place reveals the fact that Raikes has been discussing this scenario with Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer. Ballmer is after all the one who has converted Raikes from Apple to Microsoft in 1981. Elop will immediately take on the title of President of the Microsoft Business Division. Elop will be responsible for leading the Information Worker, Microsoft Business Solutions and Unified Communications businesses.
"There is no overstating the incredible impact Jeff has had during his amazing career at Microsoft. Leading our business division, Jeff and his team have delivered terrific results while reshaping and expanding the portfolio of our business-related products and services to ensure a very healthy future for our customers, partners and Microsoft. I'm confident that the deep and talented team we've got in place to fill Jeff's shoes will continue focusing on fulfilling the needs of our business customers around the globe. I'm looking forward to working with Stephen to drive the business forward", Ballmer stated.
