James Delahunty
10 Oct 2013 6:07
Microsoft is working hard to have Steve Ballmer's successor as Microsoft chief executive officer in place by the end of the year.
According to Bloomberg, the board is probing options it has for Microsoft's third CEO in its entire history, after co-founder and chairman Bill Gates and current CEO Steve Ballmer.
Bloomberg sources say the board is being advised in its head hunt by former Cisco exec and current managing director of private equity firm Silver lake, Charles Giancarlo.
Among names being thrown around as a potential successor to Ballmer are former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, Ford Motor Co CEO Alan Mulally, EBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe, former Microsoft exec Paul Maritz and Microsoft executive VP responsible for Business Development, Tony Bates.
Whoever the successor is, they will have to continue Ballmer's strategy of focusing Microsoft on providing devices and services to pull back ground dominated by rivals like Apple and Google. The new CEO will also have to integrate the acquired Nokia phone business into Microsoft.