Microsoft board members express misgivings about Steve Ballmer’s leadership or lack thereof

15 years ago

“Some members of Microsoft’s board of directors feel the need to keep their chief executive under closer scrutiny,” Richard Waters reports for The Financial Times.

MacDailyNews Take: Uh oh, some of them finally woke up!

Waters continues, “That does not mean that Steve Ballmer’s job is on the line – at least, not yet. But it does show that some on the board are getting restless about the company’s performance under his 11-year watch. And there may be few catalysts that will make things look any better in the short term to make his position any more comfortable.”

“Two people who have talked to Microsoft directors recently tell us that they have heard some expressions of misgiving about Mr Ballmer’s leadership, and suggest that he is coming under greater pressure to raise the company’s game,” Waters reports. “Our sources don’t believe the chief executive is vulnerable – certainly not as long as Bill Gates remains loyal to his old associate – but it is a sign that Microsoft’s boardroom has been feeling the heat.”

MacDailyNews Take: Now hold on a second! Just because the esteemed Mr. Ballmer responds to the question, “What’s your tablet strategy?” with 10-second-long blank stares followed by clueless gobbledegook does not mean he doesn’t have a strategy. We like his strategy. We like it a lot. May Steve Balmer remain Microsoft CEO for as long as it takes!™

Waters continues, “There are two very good reasons for the anxiety: the stock price and the iPad. After a decade of underperformance, 2010 really stank for Microsoft shareholders… Devices such as the iPad are seen by some as an existential threat to the traditional PC. Mr Ballmer admitted last year that Microsoft missed a generation of mobile software, putting it well behind the iPhone. But he then went on to compound the problem by underestimating the demand for touchscreen tablets.”