 "Microsoft investors want Ford CEO Mulally to replace Ballmer")
Microsoft recently made headlines when its current CEO, Steve Ballmer, announced that he would be retiring from the helm of the company within the next 12 months. The debate on who will be filling his shoes next year has placed former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop as the clear favourite in the race. A new report by Reuters, however, shows that not all the voices in the company agree with the idea of Elop heading the company. At least three of the company’s top investors are now pushing for the board to consider candidates like current Ford CEO Alan Mulally as well as Computer Sciences CEO Mike Lawrie.
Mulally’s track record seems solid. In the past, the executive was instrumental in successfully changing the work culture in Ford and kick start flagging brands like Taurus. The source has indicated that the automotive company’s board is open to allowing Mulally an early exit, as soon as 2014. The potential candidate, on the other hand, is being tight-lipped about the affair, stating that he is “absolutely focused on serving our Ford.”
Microsoft investors looking at Ford CEO Alan Mulally to take over after Bullmer (Image credit: FoxBusiness)
The other name doing the rounds is Mike Lawrie. The latter currently heads the multinational IT services company Computer Sciences. His track record, though, comes with years of experience as IBM’s Global Sales Chief during the 1990s and early 2000s. One of the most successful ventures in Lawrie’s CV is the turnabout of financial software company Misys Plc, according to the report.
Microsoft has been struggling in the smartphone market against the likes of Apple, Samsung and Google. In order to address that, the company, in July, announced a deep re-organisation to form the company into a “devices and services” leader. So far, though, there still seems to be little faith from its investors that the new strategy is sound. Another example of the increasing mistrust among investors about Ballmer was seen when the company’s shares reportedly rose by 7 percent after the news of his planned retirement first surfaced.
Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Nokia’s devices and services businesses may help the company make the successful transition to becoming a competitive alternative to current smartphone leaders Samsung and Apple, provided it gets the right kind of leadership. With the company yet to announce its potential candidates, the debate on who will be Microsoft’s next top executive is sure to rage on for a while.
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