Steve Ballmer stepped down from his position as member of the board of directors of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) citing the reason that he has become very busy over the past six months since retiring as CEO of the software giant.
Ballmer’s decision to relinquish his seat in the board of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) will end its direct involvement with the software giant for more than 30 years. He joined the company as employee no. 30 in 1980.
Ballmer remains as one of the largest individual shareholders of Microsoft Corporation. He owns 333.3 million shares of the company.
Ballmer told Bloomberg in an interview, “I want to be a great shareholder and I want to pay appropriate attention to my shares but between teaching classes and my new responsibilities at the Clippers and my civic duties, it’s a lot. I love Microsoft.”
Ballmer served as CEO of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) from 2000 to February 2014. During his tenure, the company’s revenue tripled despite experiencing difficulty competing with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) when it comes to mobile phones and tablets as well as internet search.
In his letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Ballmer said, “In the six months since leaving, I have become very busy. I see a combination of the Clippers, civic contribution, teaching and study taking a lot of time.”
Ballmer expressed confidence regarding the mobile-first, cloud-first of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) as well as its primary innovation emphasize on platforms and productivity and building its capability in devices and services as core business drivers.
“Given my confidence and the multitude of new commitments I am taking on now, I think it would be impractical for me to continue to serve on the board, and it is best for me to move off. The fall will be hectic between teaching a new class and the start of the NBA season so my departure from the board is effective immediately,” added Ballmer.
Furthermore, Ballmer said he will continue to love discussing the future of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Nadella can count on him to “keep ideas and inputs flowing.” According to him, I promise to support and encourage boldness by management in my role as a shareholder in any way I can.”
Commenting on his resignation, Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brandan Barnicle said. “I think he recognizes that it’s very hard for a new CEO to take the reins and have full authority with the old CEO on the board.”
