Things aren’t looking good for Steve Ballmer, with word streaming in that investors are beginning to question the degree Microsoft’s success under it’s long standing CEO.
Ballmer has always had the all important 'Eeeeeuuugh' factor...
Steve Ballmer’s antics have time and again earned him space in the headlines, but Steve Ballmer making headlines personally is often a bit more of an embarrassment for Microsoft than free news space (as anyone who remembers him chewing out an employee he noticed holding an iPhone last month will know). Now though, it’s started to look like the investors are beginning to question Steve’s ability to lead the company.
According to Bloomberg, Rowe Group portfolia manager Ken Allen said of the coming year, “Windows 7 is important for how Microsoft is seen in the marketplace, especially after how vista was received. It will be an important year for how Ballmer is viewed as CEO.”
The Bloomberg report also includes such choice quotes on Steve Ballmer as fund manager David Stepherson’s statement that, “Ballmer needs to retire – it’s been a huge disappointment from a shareholder’s perspective.”
It’ll be interesting to see just how this works out, especially when you consider the fact that Microsoft has opened up Ballmer’s pay to voting by its shareholders, meaning that Ballmer could well be told in no uncertain terms just how much the shareholders think he’s worth… and if the quotes above are anything to go by, he could be in for a relatively thrifty year indeed.
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