Three Tips For Microsoft's Next CEO
Speculation is already beginning about who'll replace Steve Ballmer as CEO of Microsoft. The names being floated are as diverse as Stephen Elop, the head of Nokia, and Steven Sinofsky, who ran Windows. Internally, a front runner might be Tony Bates, who heads strategy at Microsoft and was the CEO of Skype before it was bought in 2011.
Whoever lands the job will be facing a challenge.
The digs on Microsoft are endless:
"People roll their eyes when you say Microsoft's name."
"It's the last century's tech company."
"Your grandmother's tech firm."
It missed the boat on search. It missed mobile. Its core business model of selling software is being attacked by companies that offer much cheaper services that run in the cloud.
And while it has tried to adapt — spending billions playing catch-up — few people chose to use Bing over Google. Microsoft's been forced to deeply cut the price of its Surface tablets because they failed to sell, and the Windows phone is still a distant third place.
Hear Steve Henn Discuss Microsoft's Challenges On 'Here & Now'