Steve Ballmer steps down as Microsoft CEO

On 04/02/2014, Steve Ballmer stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, ending a 14-year tenure that began in January 2000. The company announced that Satya Nadella, previously Executive Vice President of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group, would succeed Ballmer as Microsoft’s third CEO. The leadership transition followed a search process initiated in August 2013 after Ballmer announced plans to retire. Nadella had joined Microsoft in 1992 and held several senior roles, including leadership of Bing, Microsoft Business Solutions, and the Server and Tools division. His appointment came as Microsoft emphasized cloud computing, enterprise services, and cross-platform software. At the same time, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates stepped down as chairman and took on a new role as technology advisor to support Nadella during the transition. John W. Thompson became chairman of the board. The leadership change marked a shift in Microsoft’s strategic direction toward cloud services and subscription-based software. Nadella’s appointment followed a period of expansion into devices and services during Ballmer’s tenure, including launches of Xbox, Azure growth, and acquisitions such as Skype and Nokia’s devices business.