Good Old Days at Microsoft – CEO Bill Gates

Bill Gates, Microsoft’s former CEO, is getting a lot of media attention these days. Yesterday, Ritesh added his 2 cents to Gates’ early departure and his perspective on the company’s existing situation. If you have missed that article, you can read it here.

Today, we’re going to handle the story, which says that Bill Gates has decided to dedicate his time to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Fairfax Media – Australia, reps had an interesting chit chat with Gates the other day. On the subject of whether the big guy is planning to come back to the company, or contemplating his last days as a contributor to the Foundation, Gates finally cleared the air.

He isn’t coming back to Microsoft. The most that Bill will do is being on the advisory panel of the company and that’s about it. Meanwhile, Steve Ballmer is going to take it from here. Already the company is suffering, but under Steve’s professional skills, there’s no doubt that the fleet will sink soon enough.

Then again, we have Forbes magazine. A while ago, they printed a story that said Bill is going to make a comeback. The article hinted that a “prominent CEO at Microsoft” thinks about Bill’s early arrival, which is due in the upcoming time period. The news spread like wildfire. Companies talked about Bill’s leadership skills and his unannounced “comeback” in comparison with Steve Jobs.

We all know that Apple’s CEO, in 1997, came back to lead the company to new vistas of success. Unfortunately that won’t be happening anywhere in Microsoft’s case. Bill has made his public denial quite clear. He is not coming back to Microsoft. Maybe the guy is pissed off after seeing the company’s performance in smartphone and Windows latest OS projects, and he does not want to take the blame for any imminent failure.

Whatever the reason may be, Bill will only partake in giving advice to Microsoft’s existing board members. He still maintains the biggest share in the company. Fairfax Media interview also touched base with Gates’ thoughts regarding Windows Mobile devices. While investors are blaming Steve Ballmer, the existing CEO of Microsoft for company’s low shares, Gates still thinks highly of the guy.

We are hoping for a chance to see Bill Gates back as the CEO once again. Steve Ballmer may be a great leader but he is not holding the company on one page. Things are scattered and if they are to maintain their pace, I see no reason for Microsoft to end up like Nokia.