It was around this time a full week ago that the technology world was rattled by the Steve Ballmer retirement announcement. The outgoing Microsoft CEO announced last Friday that he would be leaving the company within the next 12 months.
And even though he has recently initiated a massive reorganization plan for Redmond, Ballmer is said to part ways with Microsoft as soon as a successor is found.
While no details have been provided on the reasons why he has decided to leave, some analysts readily believe that it was the board that had the final say in this and decided to get rid of the CEO — in other words, Ballmer was definitely fired.
Patrick Moorehead of Moor Insights & Strategy, a leading analyst, said in an interview with TweakTown that Ballmer was most likely pushed out the board, as some members have not been pleased with the vision and strategy that he was pursuing:
“He was definitely pushed out by the board. They either drove him out or put him in a situation where he felt he had to leave to save face.”
Obviously it may be a while before we hear everything that went on behind the curtains, but chances are that something like this could have transpired.
Ballmer, so far has refused to provide any specifics on his retirement, but has pointed out that he discussed this with Bill Gates before making this decision — the famed co-founder of Microsoft is one of Ballmer’s closest friends, after all.
Chances are that Steve even lost Gates’ support on this, and everyone decided that a change of face and a change of outlook is now the need of the hour for the Redmond Empire.
Nevertheless, whoever comes next will, in all likelihood, continue Ballmer’s vision. The company’s board has hinted that the transformation to a devices and services firm shall continue to ensure that Microsoft stays competitive in all its markets.
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