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Ballmer Announces Retirement

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Infamously bullish Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announces he is to retire within 12 months-- leaving the once technology leader with no clear successor, at least so far.

Ballmer“There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time,” Ballmer says. “We have embarked on a new strategy with a new organization and we have an amazing Senior Leadership Team. My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our company’s transformation to a devices and services company. We need a CEO who will be here longer term for this new direction.”

The news comes around 6 weeks after the "far-reaching realignment" of the company's management, part of an effort to create a "One Microsoft" out of a conglomerate with a payroll of over 90000 employees...

Microsoft already has a special committee directing the hunt for a replacement, with the likes of Bill Gates and independent board director John W. Thompson joining forces with executive recruiting firm Struggles International.

Reportedly the announcement came as a shock to the company-- one "former senior executive" tells Business Insider "It's a total shocker... Something big must have changed, obviously."

The source continues to speculate the Microsoft board "[has] come to believe the company should be split into two, consumer and enterprise?" An understandable concern, considering (again) Microsoft's massive scale.

However at least one ex-Microsoft exec might be pleased at the news-- former senior VP Joachim Kempin, who back in January 2013 spoke with Reuters on Microsoft's need for a change in leadership-- even if, at the time, Ballmer "systematically" forced out potential challengers.

The author of "Resolve and Fortitude: Microsoft's 'Secret Power Broker' Breaks His Silence," Kempin suggested a Ballmer replacment should be "a younger person who understands the Facebook Inc generation and this mobile community... [Microsoft] does not need this guy on stage with this fierce, aggressive look, announcing the next version of Windows and thinking he can score with that."

While Microsoft might benefit from a change in leadership-- or certainly from someone so quick to dismiss emerging technologies (Ballmer famously said there was “no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share” following the 2007 reveal of the iDevice)-- we will miss Ballmer and his sweaty, exuberant on-stage antics. Remember his hollering for developers? We can only hope the next Microsoft CEO will be half as colourful.

Watch The Best of Steve Ballmer

Go Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to Retire Within 12 Months

Go Microsoft Insider: "It's a Total Shocker... Something Big Must Have Changed" (Business Insider)