Gates and Ballmer Calm the Microsoft Troops

Microsoft’s chairman and CEO sent e-mail to Microsoft’s nearly 70,000 employees, explaining the latest management transition, announced June 15, via which Gates will relinquish his day-to-day Microsoft duties and Chief Software Architect title by 2008.

Here is the text of Ballmer’s and Gates’ missives:

From: Steve Ballmer

Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 1:31 PM

To: Microsoft and Subsidiaries: All FTE

Subject: New Era of Technical Leadership

I wanted to share some important news with you, and talk a little bit about some of my top priorities in the coming months.

Today we are announcing the news that – effective July 2008 – Bill will transition to a part-time role at the company. While this is significant news, it’s important to note that for the next two years Bill will continue full-time as Chairman, and that even after July 2008 he will continue as Chairman and an advisor on key development and business issues.

This is not a decision that either Bill or I take lightly. We have a solid transition plan, and Microsoft is well-positioned to make this transition given the depth of senior leaders we have, and our strong pipeline of products over the coming year.

As Microsoft has grown, Bill also has taken on another challenge – the amazing work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to confront critical issues like global health and education. The Foundation’s efforts have begun to have a major impact, and there is growing need for him to spend more of his time on Foundation activities.

Bill and I have talked over the years about scaling the company’s leadership and about succession planning. Our efforts to expand the company’s leadership and delegate more authority to meet the challenges of our expanded scope of innovation are well underway.

Click here to read the news about Gates plans to step aside.

From: MSBILLG

Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 1:41 PM

To: Microsoft and Subsidiaries: All FTE
Subject: My Transition Plans

I wanted to take a moment to share some of my thoughts, as well.

As Steve’s mail indicates, I’ve decided that two years from now, in July 2008, I want to devote more time to the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Read the full text on Microsoft Watch: Gates and Ballmer Calm the Microsoft Troops

CIO Insight Staff
CIO Insight Staff
CIO Insight offers thought leadership and best practices in the IT security and management industry while providing expert recommendations on software solutions for IT leaders. It is the trusted resource for security professionals who need network monitoring technology and solutions to maintain regulatory compliance for their teams and organizations.

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