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Gates shaped the PC industry, made a ton of money and left at pretty much the top of his game. Why would he abandon his much more important (and I'm sure, far m

Gates shaped the PC industry, made a ton of money and left at pretty much the top of his game. Why would he abandon his much more important (and I'm sure, far more rewarding) current work to go and have another go at MS?

kenjackson 15y ago
He won't. It makes no sense to. But he does need to find a new CEO. I nominate Tim Cook. It would be a great chance for him to step out of Jobs' shadow. If Cook stays at Apple its always Jobs' company, far after Jobs' death. If he can turnaround MS, he becomes one of the giants in the history of the tech industry, next to Jobs and Gates. And note, Tim doesn't need the money. He'd be doing this to create his story.
- protomyth 15y ago
  I am pretty sure the legal wrangling on that one would go on for years. Plus, Tim Cook is pretty much running Apple.
  - kenjackson 15y ago
    The other problem with my theory is that it would be kind of jerkish for Tim to leave with Jobs this sick. If Jobs were healthy it would be reasonable. But with Jobs sick (or worse) I don't think he could jump ship to a competitor. Oh well... Sinofsky, Rudder, Guthrie, Elop. I think, in no particular order, are the four that could take Ballmer's spot.
    - larsberg 15y ago
      Honestly, they don't need to take Ballmer's spot -- one of them should take BillG's old spot before all that CEO nonsense. That is, the old Chief Software Architect role, when he used to run around reviewing every product both creating a longer-term cohesive strategy for the software and instilling the fear of instant group dismemberment if you were not thinking deeply enough. While I personally like Guthrie, Rudder was a one-time personal technical assistant to BillG. That was a role where he basically rode shotgun on a couple years of BillG reviews. And that happened back in the 90s, when he wasn't yet drifting off towards the sunset...
aresant 15y ago
The article answers your question "lest we all forget, the Foundation's endowment is tied directly to Microsoft's long-term success. It may just happen that Bill can help the Foundation more by securing Microsoft's future."
- benologist 15y ago
  The problem is ultimately he's only securing the future until the next future - Microsoft has to stand on its own feet, he can't come back every 10 years to rectify whatever opportunities they missed in his absence.

kenjackson 15y ago

He won't. It makes no sense to. But he does need to find a new CEO. I nominate Tim Cook. It would be a great chance for him to step out of Jobs' shadow. If Cook stays at Apple its always Jobs' company, far after Jobs' death. If he can turnaround MS, he becomes one of the giants in the history of the tech industry, next to Jobs and Gates. And note, Tim doesn't need the money. He'd be doing this to create his story.

protomyth 15y ago
I am pretty sure the legal wrangling on that one would go on for years. Plus, Tim Cook is pretty much running Apple.
- kenjackson 15y ago
  The other problem with my theory is that it would be kind of jerkish for Tim to leave with Jobs this sick. If Jobs were healthy it would be reasonable. But with Jobs sick (or worse) I don't think he could jump ship to a competitor. Oh well... Sinofsky, Rudder, Guthrie, Elop. I think, in no particular order, are the four that could take Ballmer's spot.
  - larsberg 15y ago
    Honestly, they don't need to take Ballmer's spot -- one of them should take BillG's old spot before all that CEO nonsense. That is, the old Chief Software Architect role, when he used to run around reviewing every product both creating a longer-term cohesive strategy for the software and instilling the fear of instant group dismemberment if you were not thinking deeply enough. While I personally like Guthrie, Rudder was a one-time personal technical assistant to BillG. That was a role where he basically rode shotgun on a couple years of BillG reviews. And that happened back in the 90s, when he wasn't yet drifting off towards the sunset...

aresant 15y ago

The article answers your question "lest we all forget, the Foundation's endowment is tied directly to Microsoft's long-term success. It may just happen that Bill can help the Foundation more by securing Microsoft's future."

benologist 15y ago
The problem is ultimately he's only securing the future until the next future - Microsoft has to stand on its own feet, he can't come back every 10 years to rectify whatever opportunities they missed in his absence.