Displaying items by tag: Stephen Elop

Steve Ballmer’s resignation was no shock to anyone that has been following Microsoft for the last few years. After far too many slips and mistakes the board and many investors felt it was time for Steve to go. Now the big talk is who will replace him underscored by a handful of rumors that Bill Gates might be the next guy be pushed out. If you look at each of these topics on their own you get a few interesting stories with some comedy thrown in for good measure. However, if you combine them you see a much more interesting picture being painted at Microsoft.

Microsoft’s investors are signaling that they are ready for change and they want someone who can facilitate that change to be the next CEO. You can see this desire in the suggestions that they have put forward to the Board; Ford CEO Alan Mulally while another potential replacement is Computer Sciences Corporation CEO Mike Lawrie. At least this is the going rumor after Yahoo published an article citing an unnamed source (aren’t they always?).

Nokia could be in a tad bit of trouble with their decision to buddy up to Microsoft. It seems that investors are not willing to wait for their investment in Windows Phone to pay off and we can’t blame them. When Nokia made this decision it was more than a little controversial as Window Phone represented a mere fraction of the market and had not shown any growth potential to warrant making it the exclusive OS for Nokia. Many felt that it was only Stephen Elop’s close connections to Microsoft that enabled the deal as Elop was the head of Microsoft’s Business Division prior to taking the top spot at Nokia.