We all know that Microsoft needs a new chief executive officer. What we have no idea of is who’s favored to take over this key tech-industry post. PCWorld writer Mark Hachman, though, was ready to make a few guesses. And he highlighted those who he has pegged as the odds-on favorite to become the next Microsoft CEO.
Stephen Elop
Stephen Elop tops Hachman’s list largely because of the 49-year-old’s insider familiarity with Microsoft and the way the company works. Elop has spent a lot of his career at Microsoft, joining the company’s business division in 2008 and then moving onto its Office group and Microsoft Dynamics. He has since left and moved to Nokia, where, beginning in 2010 he began serving as that company’s executive vice president of devices and services.
The pro
Then there’s 68-year-old Alan Mulally, an engineer. Mulally spent 37 years at Boeing, where he eventually became president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airlines. In 2006, he joined Ford as president and chief executive officer. He has attained regard for moving Ford through some of its toughest times, financing the company’s turnaround without accepting a government bailout.
Tony Bates
Hachman also lists 46-year-old Tony Bates as a potential Microsoft CEO. Bates flourished at Cisco, eventually overseeing thousands of employees as senior vice president in charge of enterprise, commercial and small business. He then moved to Skype to become its CEO in 2010. At Skype, Hachman writes, Bates expanded VoIP technology into the business world.