Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months - BBC News

23 August 2013 Last updated at 09:46 ET Steve Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 Microsoft has announced that chief executive Steve Ballmer will retire within the next 12 months, once it has found a successor. Mr Ballmer is currently overseeing the transformation of Microsoft into a devices and services company. He said in a statement: "There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time." "We need a CEO who will be here longer term for this new direction," Mr Ballmer said. The world's biggest software company has created a special committee to find a replacement. This committee includes Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Mr Ballmer, 57, succeeded Mr Gates in 2000. The two men met in 1973 while studying at Harvard University, and Mr Ballmer joined the company in 1980. Microsoft emerged as the undisputed leader in the technology sector, and became the world's largest company by market value. But there had been investor criticism of Microsoft recently for not reacting quickly enough to the way Apple and Google have led the way in mobile devices. Microsoft struggled as consumers began to shun desktops and laptops in favour of tablets and mobile devices. While its Windows software is used on the vast majority of PCs, Microsoft made little impact in the fast-growing tablet and smartphone segments. Microsoft's transformation plan, announced last month, is trying to address that. In a memo to staff last month, Mr Ballmer said that the changes meant the company was "rallying behind a single strategy as one company - not a collection of divisional strategies". The aim, he said, was to react faster to changes in the market. via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHdqJDneejvsJZBQsgR4X7eriTs3A&url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23815563

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 2598265