Steve Ballmer, the current Microsoft CEO announced in August that he’d be stepping down as Microsoft chief within a year. Who could be the next Microsoft CEO?
Ford’s CEO Alan Mulally appears to be “the leading candidate” on Microsoft’s shortlist for potential successors for Steve Ballmer, according to a recent report.
AllThingsD wrote that Alan Mulally could be the next Microsoft CEO, as he seems prepared to make the switch to Redmond.
People with knowledge of the situation said that while the 68-year-old Mulally, who has been CEO of Ford for seven years, was not seeking the job at first, he has become more amenable to the idea in recent weeks.
Mulally was a former CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in addition, he was a close adviser to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in his recent effort to create a new management structure for the company. However it remains to be seen whether he can use his turnaround experience within a tech company like Microsoft.
In addition to Mulally, Microsoft appears to be holding talks with Stephen Elop, Nokia’s former CEO who now serves as Executive Vice President of Devices & Services at Microsoft. Elop, who worked for Microsoft before joining Nokia, is a top candidate mostly because he’s already very familiar with the software giant.
Another executive reportedly in the running to become Microsoft’s next chief executive is former Skype CEO Tony Bates, who also joined the software giant as a result of his company’s acquisition by Microsoft in 2011.
Naturally, Microsoft has not confirmed any of this speculation.
