Ballmer: A Microsoft-less Future?

Steve Ballmer, former CEO and arguablly one of the most powerful execs ever at Microsoft (MSFT), could be leaving the company for good—and he may be transitioning to the world of professional sports.

Wait, what?

Let’s clarify that a bit. While Ballmer certainly won’t be playing professional sports, the former Microsoft CEO and current company director told The Wall Street Journal that he isn’t sure how long he would remain at the house that built Windows, citing opportunities to enjoy his retirement from his previous position.

“It really as much as anything depends on how I see rest of my life playing out,” Ballmer told The Journal.
Geek Wire has speculated that Ballmer, who was part of the Seattle-based investment team that tried and failed to acquire and move the Sacramento Kings to a new NBA arena in Seattle, may be renewing his efforts to move into the world of professional sports ownership. Ballmer has not made a statement on what he plans to do if he does indeed decide to leave Microsoft for good.

Ballmer is currently Microsoft’s second highest shareholder, trailing behind only Bill Gates himself in term of stock. As a Microsoft veteran 14 years, Ballmer has long been one of the company’s most prominent figureheads, leading the company through such events as the launch of three generations of Xbox video game systems and multiple operating systems.

After stepping down as CEO earlier this year, Ballmer decided to remain at the company as a board member, which drew some flack from other members of the board. And now, just weeks after taking up the new position, it seems that Ballmer already may be looking toward greener pastures.

“I get to find some new set of things to be passionate about,” Ballmer said earlier this month during an appearance at Oxford University. “I’m going to take some time and really figure it out.”

Whether Ballmer will follow through on his latest musings remains to be seen. If his past decision to step down as CEO is any indication of things to come, Ballmer may well be saying goodbye to Microsoft in the near future. Recently, Ballmer remarked that he wished he could go back and do things differently in his last 10 years at Microsoft, saying that the company should have had a greater focus on hardware.