Report: Interview Confirms Ballmer Wasn’t Fired

A report from the Wall Street Journal’s interview with Steve Ballmer, dispels the rumors that the Microsoft CEO was fired, but confirms that the Microsoft Board began accelerating the exit strategy for Ballmer as early as Q1 2013.

The CEO is quoted as saying that he had not wanted to shake up the company until after Windows 8 shipped. That jives with the stated timeline: Windows 8 shipped in Q4 2012; in Q1 2013, the board turned up the heat.

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So he was forced to leave the company earlier than anticipated.

Same thing.

someone tell the writer it's jibe, not jive

They pretty much pulled the same... em... careful wording with Don Mattrick's exit. Oh, of course he departed the company with great rapidity after overseeing one of the worst consumer electronic product debacles in the history of consumer electronics... but noo, he wasn't "Fired".

Personally I call "Bull Manure" on the idea that Ballmer was not fired. Any such claim does not fit the timeline and reports for 2013.

Let me put it this way. We know for a Fact that Ballmer's reorganization was intended to set no other current Microsoft insider as a heir apparent to the CEO spot.

We know for a Fact that Ballmer's reorganization was supposed to consolidate the power of one person and one person only: Steve Ballmer

We know for a Fact that Steve Ballmer had absolutely zero intention of leaving Microsoft until at least 2018; both based on previous direct statements as well as internal memo leaks.

We know for a Fact that the Board of Directors did not have an exit Strategy for Steve Ballmer; not only through direct statements from Board Members, but also from public commentary over the reorganization plan and internal memo leaks.

We know for a Fact that the removal of Steve Ballmer as CEO only became an issue in the wake of the first disastrous financial report in 2013 when one of Steve Ballmer's pet projects, Surface, wound up taking a near ~$1 Billion US Dollars write off... an expenditure Microsoft could not come up with any way to hide, bury, or re-account for in a different manner.

We know for a Fact that the day after a competitor announced pre-sales on an electronics product had totaled over ~1 million consoles there was a board meeting. We also know as a continuation of that Fact that within a total of 3 days of that competitor's announcement Steve Ballmer's Retirement was so-ordered.

So, you tell me, what timeline says what?

The timeline says Ballmer was Fired.

The bottom line is Ballmer himself stated to the effect of "he hadn't envisioned retiring from the company in exactly this way" in an interview with Walt Mossberg. That basically tells you who's idea it was, and who's it wasn't.

Fired.

With CEOs, "early retirement" is just a euphemism for shitcanned.

can the board fire the CEO in the first place?

We have seen this before millions of times... Does anyone really thing that even if he was pressured to step down or fired, he will admit that in public?

Everyone has known a case were someone got "fired" but it was made to be seen as a step down or quitting situation...

Stoly said:

can the board fire the CEO in the first place?

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Most boards can fire their CEO with a majority vote.

Executives don't get fired. They get "Forced" to retire early with huge severance packages.

Dekoth-E- said:

Executives don't get fired. They get "Forced" to retire early with huge severance packages.

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That's typically not the case for former Microsoft execs and it wouldn't make much difference particularly in Ballmer's case as he made his billions long before becoming CEO and he owns a nice chunk of MSFT stock.