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Microsoft Corp announced that effective July 2008 Bill Gates, Chairman, will
transition out of a day-to-day role in the company to spend more time on his
global health and education work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The
company announced a two-year transition process to ensure that there is a smooth
and orderly transfer of Gates' daily responsibilities, and said that after
July 2008 Gates would continue to serve as the company's Chairman and an
advisor on key development projects.
The company announced that Ray Ozzie, Chief Technical Officer will
immediately assume the title of Chief Software Architect and begin working side
by side with Gates on all technical architecture and product oversight
responsibilities, to ensure a smooth transition. Similarly, Craig Mundie, Chief
Technical Officer will immediately take the new title of Chief Research and
Strategy Officer and will work closely with Gates to assume his responsibility
for the company's research and incubation efforts; Mundie also will partner
with general counsel Brad Smith to guide Microsoft's intellectual property and
technology policy efforts.
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| (L-R) Bill
Gates, Chairman, Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Ray
Ozzie, Chief Software Architect and Steve Ballmer, CEO gather prior to a
news conference announcing plans for Gates to transition out of a
day-to-day role in Microsoft over the next two years while Ozzie and
Mundie assume increased roles in the company. |
“Our business and technical leadership has never been stronger, and
Microsoft is well-positioned for success in the years ahead. I feel very
fortunate to have such great technical leaders like Ray and Craig at the
company,” Gates said. “I remain fully committed and full time at Microsoft
through June 2008 and will be working side by side with Ray and Craig to ensure
that a smooth transition occurs.”
“This was a hard decision for me,” Gates added. “I'm very lucky to
have two passions that I feel are so important and so challenging. As I prepare
for this change, I firmly believe the road ahead for Microsoft is as bright as
ever.”
“Bill and I are confident we've got a great team that can step up to fill
his shoes and drive Microsoft innovation forward without missing a beat,”
Ballmer said. “We will continue to hire the world's best technical talent
and give them the tools to do their best work, and we will continue to tackle
the biggest challenges and opportunities for our customers by investing for the
long term.”
Ozzie, 50, worked on the first electronic spreadsheet, VisiCalc, in the early
1980s, then joined Lotus Development Corp in 1983 to develop Lotus Symphony, an
MS-DOS-based integrated software management product that combined word
processing, spreadsheet, business graphics, data management and communications
capabilities. In 1984, Ozzie formed Iris Associates Inc to develop Lotus Notes.
In 1997 Ozzie founded Groove Networks, where he developed Groove Virtual Office.
Microsoft acquired Groove Networks in April 2005 and named Ozzie Chief Technical
Officer.
Mundie, 56, joined Microsoft in 1992 to create and run the Consumer Platforms
Division, which was responsible for developing non-PC platform and service
offerings including the Microsoft Windows CE operating system; software for
handheld PCs, Pocket PCs and Auto PCs; and early telephony products. Mundie also
started Microsoft's digital TV efforts and acquired and managed the WebTV
Networks Inc. subsidiary.
Ozzie and Mundie will continue to report to Gates. At an appropriate time during
the two-year transition period, they will shift to reporting to Ballmer.
Gates, 50, started Microsoft in 1975 with childhood friend Paul Allen. He
took Microsoft public in 1986 and was the company's chairman and CEO until
2000, when Ballmer took over as CEO. For the past six years Gates has focused on
Microsoft's software development as the company's Chairman and chief
software architect. In 2000, with his wife, he formed the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation, whose assets now are $29.1 billion.
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