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Is Anyone at Microsoft (MSFT) Currently Favored to Succeed Ballmer as CEO?

August 23, 2013 10:38 AM EDT
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer is hitting the trail within 12 months. Given the recent management restructuring announced in July, is there anyone at the company who might be considered a worthy successor?

The WSJ highlights a few key names that might have come to light with the recent shakeup:
  • Kevin Turner, who has been Microsoft's COO for a while, will remain so. Good at operations, many insiders don't think he'd be a good fit for a company which thrives on engineering and tech expertise. He's also the highest-paid employee already, so there's no (immediate) financial incentive to make a change.

  • Julie Larson-Green is head of Windows. She might move over to Microsoft's hardware side, following in Ballmers assertion that Microsoft is shifting from relying solely on software to one with a strong devices and services presence.

  • Terry Myerson was running the Windows Phone division and moved into the role as head of engineering. Some progress will need to be made and, given Ballmer's 12-month time frame, there might be enough incentive to shore up the segment, putting Myerson in a more favorable light.

  • Satya Nadella heads several divisions, including databases and the very-profitable corporate technologies unit. The WSJ said sources have hinted that Ballmer may have favored Nadella as successor.

  • Tony Bates was former CEO of Skype, which Microsoft purchased in 2011. He hasn't been at Microsoft long, but given his leadership credentials and tech knowledge (he was an executive at Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) prior to Skype) he might have a shot. Not being a 20-year employee at Microsoft might help the company as Bates will likely bring some fresh ideas to the company.

  • Qi Lu runs Bing, which has lost money, but also gained search market share over the past few years. In addition, he will be taking over more leadership in the software segment, which includes the profitible Office unit. Probably not the best candidate to run Microsoft, but his David vs. Goliath search battle with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) shouldn't factor in so much as progress that was made in the segment.
Shares of Microsoft are up 7 percent Friday.


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