Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

September 6, 2008 1:42:54 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Gates Departure Should Calm the Waters

Posted Jun 5, 08 4:24 PM CDT in Business,  Technology 

(Newser) – Bill Gates’ departure from full-time employment at Microsoft on June 27 will end 8 contentious years in which Gates has attempted to stay onboard while nominally beneath his close friend and new CEO, Steve Ballmer. Though they built the company together, this “ambassadorial succession” produced mixed results, with Gates undermining Ballmer in front of executives, the Wall Street Journal reports.

As Ballmer fought back to assert himself, disagreement between the two held up and shelved numerous projects like Netdocs, which was similar in concept to the web-based office software Google is now using to eat into Microsoft’s offline business. After executives voiced their concerns, the two friends decided a clean break was necessary.

Source Wall Street Journal

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Teary Farewell for Gates

    Jun 27, 08 4:18 PM CDT
    Teary Farewell for Gates Microsoft celebrated Bill Gates’ last day as a full-time employee today, the Seattle Times reports. More than 800 employees, family members and friends shared memories at the company’s corporate conference center in Redmond, Wash. CEO Steve Ballmer bid a tearful farewell to his longtime friend: "We've been given a enormous opportunity, and Bill gave us that opportunity," he told the audience. More »

  • Ballmer's Competitive Streak Drove Yahoo Bid

    May 4, 08 7:36 PM CDT
    Ballmer's Competitive Streak Drove Yahoo Bid Microsoft's Yahoo bid put CEO Steve Ballmer to the test: How much would he pay to fulfill his promise to "(expletive) kill Google"? Forty-seven billion bucks was too high, but many say he'll try again—and may have a tough time convincing investors it's all cool calculation. Microsoft still lags behind Google in search advertising, and that makes Ballmer steam, the AP reports. More »

  • Microsoft's Big Yahoo Offer May Be a Ruse

    Feb 7, 08 7:26 PM CST
    Microsoft's Big Yahoo Offer May Be a Ruse One possible reason for Microsoft’s massive bid for Yahoo: It’s a ploy to block a Yahoo-Amazon team-up, one analyst says. The $44.6 billion offer will never make it past regulators, Trip Chowdhry explains to MarketWatch. But Microsoft insists otherwise: Chowdhry’s report “is completely incorrect,” said a spokeswoman. The move, she says, offers Yahoo employees and shareholders big opportunities. More »

  • Gates Plans to Log Off as Scheduled

    Jul 30, 07 8:03 AM CDT
    Gates Plans to Log Off as Scheduled Bill Gates says that, despite a surge in competition from all sides of the market, his phased exit from Microsoft has been bug-free so far. His two-year transition period halfway done, the chairman and former CEO says that his handpicked successors have been successfully picking up the slack. But doubters say Gates can't fully disengage at such a critical time. More »

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates speaks with The Associated Press Friday May 9, 2008, in Jakarta, Indonesia.   (AP Photo/Ed Wray)
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates speaks during the Microsoft advance08 Advertising Leadership Forum at the company's campus in Redmond, Wash., Wednesday May 21, 2008.   (AP Photo)
CEO of Microsoft Corporation Steve Ballmer, looks on, during the meeting of the Hungarian Parliament's IT Committee in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, May 19, 2008.   (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (1 of 1)

Tags

Google  • Microsoft  • technology  • software  • Bill Gates  • Steve Ballmer  • leadership  • executive power  • power sharing  • corporate leadership


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular


Other Technology Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »