“Microsoft Corp’s sweeping re-organization on Thursday creates a company that, more than ever, bears the stamp of Chief Executive Steve Ballmer,” Alexei Oreskovic reports for Reuters. “The face of Microsoft since he took the reins from co-founder Bill Gates in 2000, Ballmer stressed the importance of improving internal collaboration and eliminating redundancies when he released the company’s new organizational blueprint.”
“For all the changes promised, the move reinforces Ballmer’s grip on the company’s direction and further muddies the succession picture,” Oreskovic reports. “‘There’s still no heir apparent or any succession strategy that has become apparent,’ said David Smith, an analyst with industry research firm Gartner. ‘It sounds like he wants to run it in a more centralized style.'”
“That Ballmer, 57, who presided over a decade of share price stagnation and was deemed slow to respond to mobile computing, remains more entrenched may worry investors and spur concern that the reorganization will truly effect change,” Oreskovic reports. “‘In theory, it’s a great idea. The key question will be can Ballmer deliver this in new model and can it be successful,’ said Channing Smith, co-manager of the Capital Advisors Growth Fund, which does not own Microsoft shares. ‘With his track record, it will be question mark for investors going forward.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: By our count, this is Ballmer’s fifth “reorganization” since 2008. So, you know, this big “news” out of Microsoft is really more like an annual joke.
As we said earlier today, “We await Microsoft’s 2014 rearrangement of the deck chairs with bated breath.”
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Rainy Day” for the heads up.]
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