The former Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, has officially resigned from the company’s board of directors “effective immediately”. Ballmer gives a number of reasons as to why he has went through with his resignation, saying that the chief contributing factors are a “combination of the Clippers, civic contribution, teaching and study.”

The company’s current CEO, Satya Nadella, took time to thank Mr Ballmer for his exemplary guidance and contributions by saying that he’s looking forward to partnering up with Ballmer as a shareholder. Ballmer currently holds more shares in Microsoft than anyone other than the index funds.

Ballmer says, “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.”

Having spent an enormous amount of time with the company, know that it’s not hyperbole when he says “I bleed Microsoft — have for 34 years and I always will,”.

Naturally, we wish the best for Steve Ballmer for his future endeavours.

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In the midst of months of speculation regarding its next CEO, Microsoft has finally announced that Executive Vice President of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group Satya Nadella is now CEO and a member of the Board of Directors effectively immediately. Current CEO Steve Ballmer will retire from his current role and pave the way for Nadella to lead the company forward.

Founder Bill Gates stated that, “During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella. Satya is a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, business vision and the ability to bring people together. His vision for how technology will be used and experienced around the world is exactly what Microsoft needs as the company enters its next chapter of expanded product innovation and growth.”

Steve Ballmer stated that, “Having worked with him for more than 20 years, I know that Satya is the right leader at the right time for Microsoft. I’ve had the distinct privilege of working with the most talented employees and senior leadership team in the industry, and I know their passion and hunger for greatness will only grow stronger under Satya’s leadership.”

Nadella has been credited for Microsoft’s move to Cloud computing, especially when it comes to implementing Cloud infrastructures in services such as Bing, Xbox, Office and more. He stated that, ““Microsoft is one of those rare companies to have truly revolutionized the world through technology, and I couldn’t be more honored to have been chosen to lead the company. The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly, move faster and continue to transform. A big part of my job is to accelerate our ability to bring innovative products to our customers more quickly.”

What are your thoughts on Nadella’s ascent as the new CEO? Let us know below.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will be stepping down as CEO in 2014, and has reflected on his time in the company in a new interview with CNN. Ballmer talked about how the original Xbox was his responsibility, as was the original decision to bring it to the living room.

“My decision, my accountability. I believe in accountability. I’m in. I’m accountable. I’ll make this work — not that I had to drive it — but we had some bumps on the road. And it was important that I stay accountable, stay patient, and stay behind the decision that we made.” This comes off of Entertainment and Devices division’s Robbie Bach talking about how Ballmer spent six months to see if the Xbox was a viable strategy for the company’s business.

Bach stated that, “He was willing to step out into a space that Microsoft had never been in, look at a business model, and say, This is something we need to try.”

Former Microsoft strategist Charles Fitzgerald also stated that, “It is easy to bemoan billions spent on Xbox, but when you look at it as a hedge to keep Sony or any game console from undermining the Windows PC, it is chump change compared to the hundreds of billions in Windows profits banked during that time.”

Given that Windows is still the dominant PC operating system and the Xbox One is seeing strong sales, we’d say it was worth the risk. How will it work out down the line? Stay tuned.

According to All Things D (via Game Informer), it seems that Mulally is currently on the top of the list ahead of Nokia’s Stephen Elop since the main has the experience necessary to lead companies during turnarounds. This isn’t counting the fact the Mulally apparently advised Ballmer when deciding on Microsoft’s current structure. It’s all just a rumour at this point, however, and it already sounds iffy that Microsoft would go outside of its foundation to find a successor.

What are your thoughts on the same and who would you tip as Microsoft’s best bet for a new CEO? Let us know in the comments below.

Ballmer revealed in a statement that, “There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time. My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our transformation to a devices and services company focused on empowering customers in the activities they value most. We need a CEO who will be here longer term for this new direction.

“I will retire as CEO of Microsoft within the next 12 months, after a successor is chosen. There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time.

A special committee, working with Heidrick & Struggles International Inc., and which includes lead independent director John Thompson, chairman of the board Bill Gates, chairman of the Audit Committee Chuck Noski and chairman of the Compensation Committee Steve Luczo has been formed for the selection process.

Gates, who founded the company 38 years ago along with Paul Allen, stated that, “As a member of the succession planning committee, I’ll work closely with the other members of the board to identify a great new CEO. We’re fortunate to have Steve in his role until the new CEO assumes these duties.”

One wonders how this will affect the future of Xbox and Windows, two aspects in which Ballmer has been incredibly involved with driving the direction of.

Microsoft has revealed that Steve Ballmer will now take over the Xbox business after Don’s recent departure from Microsoft. Don Mattrick is appointed as the new CEO for Zynga and the contract will come in-effect on July 8th 2013. Meanwhile, Microsoft doesn’t have someone to replace Don Mattrick, so the firm has decided to put Steve Ballmer in-charge. It is currently unknown if Steve Ballmer is a temporary replacement for Don Mattrick or if Microsoft is actually looking for someone else at this moment.

Here is the full statement from Steve Ballmer’s email regarding Don Mattrick joining up with Zynga – Thanks to CVG for the source.

“Zynga announced today that Don Mattrick would be its new CEO, effective July 8. This is a great opportunity for Don, and I wish him success. Don’s directs will report to me and will continue to drive the day-to-day business as a team, particularly focused on shipping Xbox One this holiday.

“Since joining IEB more than six years ago, Don and his team have accomplished much. Xbox Live members grew from 6 million to 48 million. Xbox 360 became the No. 1 selling console in North America the past two years. We introduced Kinect and have sold more than 24 million sensors. We released fantastic games, and, most importantly, we expanded Xbox to go beyond great gaming to deliver all the entertainment people want – sports, music, movies, live television and much more.

“In the past month, the IEB team showed for the first time here on our Redmond campus, and again at E3, how we are going to continue to transform entertainment with Xbox One. I am incredibly proud of the work and vision culminating in Xbox One.

“I’m particularly excited about how Xbox pushes forward our devices and services transformation by bringing together the best of Microsoft. The consoles are incredible all-in-one devices with built-in services that consumers love, including Bing, Xbox Live, Internet Explorer, SkyDrive and Skype. And, just as important, Xbox Games, Xbox Video, Xbox Music and SmartGlass light up Windows PCs, tablets and phones.

“Thank you, Don, for setting us on a path to completely redefine the entertainment industry. The strong leadership team at IEB and their teams are well positioned to deliver the next-generation entertainment console, as well as transformative entertainment experiences, long into the future.”

To some people this may be a surprising piece of news, especially for me personally. I did not expect Steve Ballmer to overtake Xbox Business. I am not to pleased with his performances and his speeches during previous Microsoft conferences.Is this good for the Xbox One, and will it affect the launch of Microsoft’s new hardware in any sort of positive or negative way? I guess we’re going have to wait to find out.

Sound off in the comments below and tell us what you think about this.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt as this story develops.

These visits were in order “to reiterate Microsoft’s commitment to transitioning its business to devices and services and to explaining that Hollywood entertainment is a big part of that. Microsoft in the past has just dipped a toe but now has a real commitment.”

The duo have apparently met CBS boss Les Moonves, Sony TV head Steve Mosko, and WME co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, with Balmer stating that he doesn’t want the Xbox One “to be a cable channel.” The capabilities of the machine in the realm of sports, reality TV and more – as seen at the recent Xbox Reveal – were apparently emphasized at the meeting.

Meanwhile, for games, tune in to Microsoft’s E3 press conference, which will happen on June 10th at 12:30 PM/ET 9:30 AM PT/5:30 PM BST.

Hood stated that, “I’m excited to step into this role and look forward to working closely again with our investors and shareholders. Peter has built a world-class finance team, and I am set up well to continue the company’s strong discipline around costs and focus on driving shareholder value.”

Originally acting as CFO for the Microsoft Business Division in 2010, Hood has also worked chief of staff in the Server and Tools group, and also as strategy and business development team leader.

CEO Steve Ballmer issued a statement, saying, “Amy brings the right talents and experiences to the role as we continue to strengthen our focus on devices and services.

“She has been an instrumental leader in the Microsoft Business Division, helping lead the transition to services with Office 365 and delivering strong financial and operational management throughout her time on the business.”

Speaking to Reuters, Kempin talked about former COO Richard Belluzzo, a key player in launching the first Xbox: “He [Belluzzo] had no room to breathe on the top. When you work that directly with Ballmer and Ballmer believes ‘maybe this guy could someday take over from me’, you will have less air to breathe – that’s what it comes down to.

Kempin also spoke about other executives like Stephen Elop, Nokia Oyj and Ray Ozzie as similar examples, and classifies Balmer’s reign as one doing too little, too late.

“They missed all the opportunities they were talking about when I was still in the company – tablets, phones. We had a tablet going, we had tablet software when Windows XP came out, it was never followed up properly.

“They [Microsoft] need somebody maybe 35-40 years old, a younger person who understands the Facebook Inc generation and this mobile community. They don’t need this guy on stage with this fierce, aggressive look, announcing the next version of Windows and thinking he can score with that.”

Source: GIBiz

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s famous boss, has commented on Kinect, saying that it is a “next generation of 360”.

“The device that I’m most keen on…is the next generation of the Xbox 360, [Kinect],” he said at the London School Of Economics.

“You control everything on your television screen, and the content interaction with friends is happening in the Cloud. ”

“It is a smart device that is processing me. It gives us the ability to have a natural user interface. And you can participate in games with friends across the globe.”

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