While it was rumored that the new Microsoft CEO would be named this month, those eagerly anticipating the news will have to wait. It doesn’t look as though the board of directors is any closer in naming Ballmer’s replacement than they were a few months ago.
For the most part, the delay seems to be due to Bill Gates. Still an active member in his company, he is an integral part in finding and naming a CEO. He is one of the members of the board who has to give the go-ahead for any candidate.
The month of January is always a busy one for the company’s founder. Mainly, the annual newsletter released by the foundation run by himself and his wife Melinda takes up a lot of time. But that isn’t the only problem. The main issue is the still large list of candidates, which seems to gain a new name every time an old one is taken off of it.
One such name to drop off the list is Anal Mulally, the current Ford CEO. He was rumored to be a highly placed possibility for Ballmer’s seat. But Mulally himself has denied any intention to take the job.
“I would like to end the Microsoft speculation because I have no other plans to do anything other than serve Ford,” he said in a statement.
So who is on the list now? It isn’t even worth naming names, to be honest; the list is well over a hundred candidates, and speculation has been useless so far. The best thing we can say right now is that it’s anyone’s game. Quite literally, any figure in the tech world (which is vast), or even just in the business world (even more vast) has a shot. The very fact Mulally was on the list at all, despite the difference in industries, proves that.
We do have a new possible date to look out for, however. Sources say a decision will hopefully be made by February. Please note the word ‘hopefully’. Nothing is really certain.
I think what surprises me most about this whole thing is how disorganized it has been. The decision to drop Ballmer couldn’t have been last minute; he has been precarious at best for awhile. So why the lack of preparation for the next step? Why not get this over and done with before the holidays?
The only thing I can assume is that Ballmer’s “new vision” for Microsoft, which led to a complete restructuring, has caused a bit of chaos they have yet to pull themselves out of.
Source: CNBC, Seattle Times
