Microsoft is on the hunt for a new CEO to replace Steve Ballmer. They say that they are “pleased” with the progress of their search for a replacement, and that they are fully expecting to hire someone to fill the role, sometime in the early part of 2014. Whether that means January or April, we don’t know yet.
John Thompson is the chair of the committee that is looking for Steve Ballmer’s replacement, and he also sits on the Microsoft board of directors. In a blog post that went live yesterday on the official Microsoft blog, Thompson says that his committee has looked at over 100 candidates that may fit the job description. This is not an easy process, but they are working through it. After the initial 100 were considered, the group of candidates was cut down to just 20 people. Thompson did not make it clear how many candidates are left at this point. Thompson did say that the remaining candidates are “extremely impressive in their own right,” which is to be expected when you’re looking at potential new CEOs for one of the largest tech companies in the world.
“As you would expect, as this group has narrowed, we’ve done deeper research and investigation, including with the full Board,” he said. “We’re moving ahead well, and I expect we’ll complete our work in the early part of 2014.”
The update yesterday doesn’t give us much new information, but it does show us that Microsoft is working diligently to replace Ballmer. “The early part of 2014” is a bit vague as to the time frame of when the Microsoft successor will be chosen, but Microsoft wants to make sure that this decision is the right one. There has been quite a bit of speculation, and even some betting taking place, on who the new Microsoft CEO will be. Former Skype president Tony Bates is one favorite. So is Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, who brokered Microsoft’s buyout of Nokia’s handset division earlier this year. Other prospects include Ford CEO Alan Mullaly and Microsoft’s own Satya Nadella. Hopefully it won’t be long before the next Microsoft CEO is announced to the world.