9 ms·

isn't he a board member? why would that be surprising?

gingerbread-man 8y ago
"Gates continues to serve on Microsoft’s board of directors and as an advisor on key development projects." https://news.microsoft.com/exec/bill-gates/ https://news.microsoft.com/exec/bill-gates/
WorldMaker 8y ago
For a period in the Ballmer era it was said that Gates had entirely disconnected to focus 100% on the charity work. There is some surprise that Gates seems to be more involved in the Nadella era given how strict Gates was said to be hands-off during Ballmer's tenure, though certainly it is still no surprise that the charity work is still Gates' focus.
- debacle 8y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates#Personal_life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates#Personal_life > They have three children: Jennifer Katharine (b. 1996), Rory John (b. 1999), and Phoebe Adele (b. 2002). Probably has something to do with it. His youngest is close to college age now.
  - jdironman 8y ago
    That doesn't really make a lot of since though. Why all of a sudden for the younger one? He spend most of those years in command for Microsoft, before focusing on charity work from 2008 and up. (His children would have been roughly 12, 9, and 6 at that time.) So, that may be a part of it but probably not a major part.
    - rabidrat 8y ago
      He basically stepped down from active management with the birth of his second child. (Ballmer became CEO in Jan 2000).
      - jdironman 8y ago
        Ah, I was under the impression that he had stepped down in 2008. But that was probably from any activity at Microsoft and 2000 was when he relinquished the CEO title. Thank you for clarifying that. It does sound like that may be more closely related than I thought.
- philwelch 8y ago
  Purely speculation on my part, but that makes a lot of sense. During the Ballmer era, he would have wanted to send a clear and unambiguous signal that he was no longer calling the shots, so he would have made a greater effort to step away. Also important was that, while Ballmer wasn’t technically a cofounder, he had been around since the early days. With Ballmer gone and Gates having demonstrated that his foundation is by far his #1 focus, there’s less reason for him to give Microsoft some distance and more reason for him to occasionally show up and, among other things, serve as a living connection to their early history.
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
  He probably got involved again because Ballmer made such a big hash of things.
- mandeepj 8y ago
  > There is some surprise that Gates seems to be more involved in the Nadella era Nadella had asked Gates to step up and be more involved when he accepted CEO position

"Gates continues to serve on Microsoft’s board of directors and as an advisor on key development projects." https://news.microsoft.com/exec/bill-gates/ https://news.microsoft.com/exec/bill-gates/

WorldMaker 8y ago

For a period in the Ballmer era it was said that Gates had entirely disconnected to focus 100% on the charity work. There is some surprise that Gates seems to be more involved in the Nadella era given how strict Gates was said to be hands-off during Ballmer's tenure, though certainly it is still no surprise that the charity work is still Gates' focus.

debacle 8y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates#Personal_life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates#Personal_life > They have three children: Jennifer Katharine (b. 1996), Rory John (b. 1999), and Phoebe Adele (b. 2002). Probably has something to do with it. His youngest is close to college age now.
- jdironman 8y ago
  That doesn't really make a lot of since though. Why all of a sudden for the younger one? He spend most of those years in command for Microsoft, before focusing on charity work from 2008 and up. (His children would have been roughly 12, 9, and 6 at that time.) So, that may be a part of it but probably not a major part.
  - rabidrat 8y ago
    He basically stepped down from active management with the birth of his second child. (Ballmer became CEO in Jan 2000).
    - jdironman 8y ago
      Ah, I was under the impression that he had stepped down in 2008. But that was probably from any activity at Microsoft and 2000 was when he relinquished the CEO title. Thank you for clarifying that. It does sound like that may be more closely related than I thought.
philwelch 8y ago
Purely speculation on my part, but that makes a lot of sense. During the Ballmer era, he would have wanted to send a clear and unambiguous signal that he was no longer calling the shots, so he would have made a greater effort to step away. Also important was that, while Ballmer wasn’t technically a cofounder, he had been around since the early days. With Ballmer gone and Gates having demonstrated that his foundation is by far his #1 focus, there’s less reason for him to give Microsoft some distance and more reason for him to occasionally show up and, among other things, serve as a living connection to their early history.
SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
He probably got involved again because Ballmer made such a big hash of things.
mandeepj 8y ago
> There is some surprise that Gates seems to be more involved in the Nadella era Nadella had asked Gates to step up and be more involved when he accepted CEO position