Microsoft CEO Search: Mulally, Nadella Top Candidate List?

Ford (F) chief executive Alan Mulally and current Microsoft (MSFT) Cloud and Enterprise Executive Vice President Satya Nadella are said to have separated themselves from other candidates vying to replace Microsoft outgoing boss Steve Ballmer, according to sources cited in a new Bloomberg report.

Other candidates frequently mentioned at the top of Microsoft’s list of potential Ballmer replacements—namely incoming Devices head and former Nokia (NOK) chief executive Stephen Elop and former Skype chief and current Microsoft Business Development head Tony Bates—remain in the running but now are long shots to emerge as the company’s new honcho, according to the report.

However, even though most of the chatter has focused on Mulally and Elop, the search process reportedly still is fluid and new candidates could emerge from the pack, sources cited said.

Bloomberg tried to get someone at Ford, Microsoft and Nokia to comment but, as expected at this stage no one’s talking—at least for attribution.

Microsoft’s board has let it be known that it prefers to expedite the process of finding a new chief but that doesn’t mean it won’t acquiesce to waiting until sometime next year for the best candidate to rise to the top of its list, the report said.

Chairman Bill Gates told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting Nov. 19 that he and the board’s search committee are “pleased with the progress” of interviewing both internal and external candidates for chief executive Steve Ballmer’s job.

As expected, Gates didn’t identify, or even hint, at who’s in the running nor did he say when the job will be filled.

“It’s a complex role to fill—a lot of different skills, experience and capabilities that we need. It’s a complex global business that the new CEO will have to lead,” he said, adding, “the person has to have a lot of comfort in leading a highly technical organization and have an ability to work with our top technical talent to seize the opportunities.”

Mulally has been positioned as the candidate to beat in many corners but some observers worry he’d be more of a caretaker than a pioneer, someone who will refine the company’s culture and organization but not necessarily see and jump in early on IT trends. And, Bates, Elop or Nadella might not have the business chops Mulally possesses.

At Microsoft’s shareholder meeting, Gates said he and Ballmer both are committed “to make sure that the next CEO is the right person at the right time for the company we both love.”