Ever since Steve Ballmer’s announcement that he would be retiring from Microsoft in the next 12 months, the internet has been ablaze with speculation about who will be the company’s next CEO. And even though Ballmer’s retirement is still many months away, Microsoft’s board wants to find his permanent replacement by year’s end.
According to a report from Bloomberg that cites “people with knowledge of the discussions,” Microsoft’s board has been hard at work interviewing CEO candidates and narrowing down the list in order to have a nominee by the end of 2013.
According to this same report, the board has already interviewed certain candidates such as Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally and former Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, who is considered by many to be one of the favorites in this race. Some candidates such as John Donahoe of eBay have declined to be considered.
Microsoft is in the middle of a major transition as well as a major purchase so whoever ends up filling Ballmer’s role will have to deal with the restructuring of the company and integrate the newly acquired Nokia division, not to mention keep Microsoft’s momentum going.
Source: Bloomberg | Image via Microsoft