Microsoft (MSFT) Board Might Have Final CEO Candidate Selected by December

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) chairman Bill Gates said he and company directors have met with a lot of candidates to succeed current CEO Steve Ballmer.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Microsoft's board met on Monday to discuss some of the candidates. Gates noted that he and Ballmer have shared a commitment to finding the right person to fill the CEO role. Gates was said to choke up a little when addressing the crowd at Microsoft's annual shareholders meeting.

Microsoft directors, including Ballmer, were unanimously re-elected by shareholders at the meeting.

Microsoft is said to be looking to narrow the list of candidates to five and the board might have a final choice as soon as next month, sources told Bloomberg.

Aside from several internal candidates, market chatter has potential Ballmer successors including Ford's (NYSE: F) Alan Mulally and former Nokia (NYSE: NOK) CEO Stephen Elop. Microsoft has not commented on specific candidates as of yet.

Shares of Microsoft are down 0.4 percent.

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