The Wall Street Journal has an article describing the power struggle between Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer in the last few years. Here are some excerpts from that article:
It was early 2000, and Bill Gates had relinquished the chief executive’s job at Microsoft Corp. to Steve Ballmer – Mr. Gates retained the power, triggering a year long struggle between the two men that until now has remained largely under wraps.
Things became so bitter that, on one occasion, Mr. Gates stormed out of a meeting in a huff after a shouting match in which Mr. Ballmer jumped to the defense of several colleagues.
Embattled, Mr. Gates sought help. Eventually, in January 2000, he gave his chief executive title to Mr. Ballmer. Mr. Gates became Microsoft’s “chief software architect,” a new position that, in theory, was below that of Mr. Ballmer.
Soon, the two men clashed as Mr. Ballmer tried to assert himself in his new job. As the firm’s iconic leader, Mr. Gates still held sway that wasn’t tied to a title: In meetings Mr. Gates would interject with sarcasm, undermining Mr. Ballmer in front of other executives, Mr. Gates and other Microsoft executives say.Other Microsoft executives tried to step in, calling Messrs. Gates and Ballmer into a meeting with a clear message: Your struggles threaten the company, according to people familiar with the situation.
Microsoft’s board held its own discussions with the two men, and also dispatched Dave Marquardt, a director and early Microsoft investor, to have periodic dinners with the two to help sort through the troubles.
The stress on Mr. Ballmer was clear one morning in January 2001 while he was in Paris for an annual review of Microsoft’s businesses. In his hotel room at 3 a.m. after a long day of meetings, Mr. Ballmer posed a telling question to Mr. Raikes, the veteran Microsoft executive: “What is the CEO’s job at Microsoft?”
About Gates retirement, Once Mr. Gates leaves, “I’m not going to need him for anything. That’s the principle,” Mr. Ballmer says. “Use him, yes, need him, no.”
Interesting, but it wasn’t something unexpected.
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