Microsoft (MSFT) yesterday announced that it would select a new CEO by early 2014 — to replace outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer — a move that will determine the company’s future.
The Microsoft search committee that includes chairman Bill Gates has said it’s identified more than 100 potential candidates to lead MSFT.
Board member John Thompson says the committee has narrowed down to 20.
“We’re moving ahead well, and I expect we’ll complete our work in the early part of 2014,” Thompson wrote on Microsoft’s blog.
Insider reports have speculated the new CEO may come from within the MSFT universe, but the committee said the search is wide open.
Its way forward in 2014 must include a deeper foray into the mobile market.
PCs increasingly face tough times from consumers eager to stick to mobile and tablets for their new computer use.
The selection will help MSFT steer its way forward — that includes Microsoft stock — so Wall Street is eagerly awaiting the decision (via USA Today).
…in the four months since the search began following Microsoft’s announcement in August that Ballmer would retire, two divergent company directions have emerged for the software giant’s choice in leadership. The decisions, say analysts, amount to whether the company wants to bet on mobile and cloud services in a long-term vision versus cut costs to please Wall Street short term.
Others cautioned Microsoft may have become too much of a behemoth to change its stripes into that of a nimble player. “Microsoft is corporate in mind and body –- in danger of kidding itself like a late middle-aged man who buys a red Porsche to show he’s a stud at heart but will still look fat behind the wheel,” says Nigel Nicholson, a professor at the London School of Business.
As Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) take huge leaps forward, MSFT is seen as lagging in the innovations department (with exceptions coming from its Xbox products like Xbox One).
The move by MSFT into tablets, its Surface line, ended up in a $900 million write-down which pilled up against an already less-than-stellar Windows 8 launch.
Ford (F) CEO Alan Mulally and Qualcomm’s CEO Steve Mollenkopf were among the high-profile contenders reported in the running.
They are not currently in the running according to reports.
Ballmer was under intense pressure to help Microsoft change, but it appears the company couldn’t change quickly enough.
The new CEO will be saddled with intense pressure to get back into the game — or risk falling even further behind.
MSFT stock is up 36% year to date.
