Why Not Ballmer?

In the wake of Bill Gates’s announcement that he’s stepping down from day-to-day management at Microsoft in two years, Owen Thomas from Business 2.0 says Steve Ballmer should pack his bags too. Jack Schofield, blogging for The Guardian, points out why this is unlikely:

It would be a much bigger deal if Steve Ballmer was stepping down, which is what a lot of geeks would prefer. Gates is a nerd. Ballmer is a salesman and would probably have made a great high school football coach, neither of which appeals to geek sensibilities. But he’s taken Microsoft sales from $25bn (2001) to $40bn (2005) and annual profits from $7.3bn to $12.3bn, almost doubling EPS. That sort of performance is not likely to get him fired.

Further proof that Ballmer likely isn’t leaving anytime soon: Thomas quotes none other than our good friend Rob Enderle as predicting that Ballmer will leave soon after Gates.

★ Friday, 16 June 2006