Microsoft announces Steve Ballmer is resigning as CEO

Written by Brandon Hofer on August 23, 2013

News: Another executive is heading out the door at Microsoft with CEO Steve Ballmer announcing his retirement.

Big news from Microsoft today as they are reporting that current CEO, Steve Ballmer, has announced his retirement from the company. This won’t happen overnight as Microsoft needs to select his successor but this is really interesting timing considering the management reshuffle that we have all heard about after the disastrous last few months Microsoft has had with the Xbox One.

Balmer is going to oversee the selection process for his successor and will continue to remain CEO throughout the process. Microsoft has stated that they will look both internally as well as externally for potential candidates. Ballmer’s time as the CEO at Microsoft hasn’t been a smooth one as, under his guidance, Microsoft has lost a lot of its market value over the last decade. The stock has wavering between $25 and $35 for the most part during his tenure.

One of the big criticisms leveled at Ballmer was his inability to see what was coming. While no one can see the future Microsoft was extremely late to the market with their Windows Phones and Surface tablets. This lead to Apple’s rise to prominence in the cell phone and tablet market with their iDevices and Google close behind with their Android products.

Then of course there was Windows itself where Windows Vista was very buggy and an incredible resource hog. To be fair though Windows 7 was a really great system and Windows 8 does run really well too, despite criticisms levied at it. The main reason you are reading this story on Gaming Target though is because we are all gamers and the Xbox division did see incredible success during Ballmer’s tenure. Of course Ballmer isn’t the only reason for the success of the Xbox (nor can he shoulder 100% of the blame in other areas) but he was one of the guys leading the charge as Microsoft CEO. The Xbox 360 became an incredibly popular device and has been the best selling console in the U.S. for over two years now. Of course everyone will remember the disastrous “Red Ring of Death” fiasco and how it cost Microsoft a billion dollars to correct that situation and move past it.

Microsoft’s recent troubles over the past few months and their mixed messaging as it relates to Xbox One has forced Microsoft to make personnel changes and it begins with the management. Don Mattrick was the first guy to leave as he headed over to Zynga and it would appear that Ballmer is the next one out the door. I don’t think we will ever know how the Xbox One directly affected this situation (if it did at all) but it certainly is interesting timing.

“There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time,” said Ballmer. “We have embarked on a new strategy with a new organization and we have an amazing senior leadership team. My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our company’s transformation to a devices and services company. We need a CEO who will be here longer term for this new direction.”

What do you think about this development? Tell us in the comments below.