Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has announced, in a public letter, that he is stepping down from the board with immediate effect. His departure from the board came almost a year to the day after revealing that he was leaving his post as the company's CEO.
The letter, addressed to his successor Satya Nadella, was published on Tuesday. Ballmer explained that his decision to leave his board position is due to a combination of commitments in his schedule; devoted to his recently acquired LA Clippers NBA basketball team, "civic contribution, teaching and study".
"The fall (autumn) will be hectic between teaching a new class and the start of the NBA season so my departure from the board is effective immediately," he explained in the letter. Ballmer's acquisition of the Clippers cost an NBA-record of $2 billion. He debuted as the Clippers owner at a fan rally in LA's Staples Centre on Monday.
Having been involved with Microsoft for over three decades, Ballmer handed over the title as Microsoft CEO to Nadella in February. Mr Ballmer had been the CEO since January 2000 when founder Bill Gates stepped down.
In the letter, Ballmer states that he does not anticipate changing his position as the firm's largest individual shareholder. He owns more than 333 million shares in Microsoft, worth slightly over $15 billion. "I hold more Microsoft shares than anyone other than index funds and love the mix of profits, investments and dividends returned in our stock," Ballmer wrote. "I expect to continue holding that position for the foreseeable future."
In terms of Microsoft's current operations the letter also indicates what Ballmer sees as important businesses for Microsoft's future. "In the mobile-first, cloud-first world, software development is a key skill, but success requires moving to monetization through enterprise subscriptions, hardware gross margins, and advertising revenues. Making that change while also managing the existing software business well requires a boldness and fearlessness that I believe the management team has."
"I bleed Microsoft - have for 34 years and I always will," wrote Mr Ballmer, signing off in his final paragraph.
