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As it named longtime company insider Satya Nadella its new CEO Tuesday, Microsoft made a second, less-noticed appointment that will also be key to its transition from a world dominated by PCs to one ruled by tablets and smartphones.
To replace the legendary Bill Gates as chairman, the company tapped John Thompson, a seasoned valley executive and former CEO of Symantec, who will become only the second chairman in Microsoft's history.
Thompson's new role, analysts and industry experts said, is a signal that the company hopes to help reinvigorate its sluggish business by injecting some of the valley's cutting-edge innovation.
Microsoft has tapped John Thompson, a seasoned valley executive and former CEO of Symantec, who will become only the second chairman in Microsoft's history.
"Thompson is a very well and deeply respected guy and his experience, plus his connections with the tech ecosystem in the valley and elsewhere, will be invaluable for Satya," said John Connors, Microsoft's chief financial officer from 1999 to 2005, who now is a managing partner with Ignition Ventures.
While a CEO generally handles a corporation's daily operation, a chairman, which is generally not a full-time job, has considerable responsibility because the board he or she heads oversees the top executives, including the CEO, and has ultimate responsibility for the company's performance.
Industry experts view the leadership change as a determined effort by the Redmond, Wash., company's board to move more quickly into mobile devices and other growing markets so the company can regain its former stature. Microsoft has been hard hit by the declining personal computer market, which depends largely on its software.
And for Thompson -- a Microsoft board member who ran Mountain View-based security company Symantec for a decade and is now CEO of San Jose-based software company Virtual Instruments -- being handed the chairmanship represents a crowning achievement in his long and lustrous career.
"This is the capstone, the cherry on top," said technology analyst Charles King. "I don't know where you go after this. He's a good man and a very able leader, and he should be exactly what Microsoft needs at this time."
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http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_25063431/valley-exec-john-thompson-tapped-microsoft-chairman
To replace the legendary Bill Gates as chairman, the company tapped John Thompson, a seasoned valley executive and former CEO of Symantec, who will become only the second chairman in Microsoft's history.
Thompson's new role, analysts and industry experts said, is a signal that the company hopes to help reinvigorate its sluggish business by injecting some of the valley's cutting-edge innovation.
Microsoft has tapped John Thompson, a seasoned valley executive and former CEO of Symantec, who will become only the second chairman in Microsoft's history."Thompson is a very well and deeply respected guy and his experience, plus his connections with the tech ecosystem in the valley and elsewhere, will be invaluable for Satya," said John Connors, Microsoft's chief financial officer from 1999 to 2005, who now is a managing partner with Ignition Ventures.
While a CEO generally handles a corporation's daily operation, a chairman, which is generally not a full-time job, has considerable responsibility because the board he or she heads oversees the top executives, including the CEO, and has ultimate responsibility for the company's performance.
Industry experts view the leadership change as a determined effort by the Redmond, Wash., company's board to move more quickly into mobile devices and other growing markets so the company can regain its former stature. Microsoft has been hard hit by the declining personal computer market, which depends largely on its software.
And for Thompson -- a Microsoft board member who ran Mountain View-based security company Symantec for a decade and is now CEO of San Jose-based software company Virtual Instruments -- being handed the chairmanship represents a crowning achievement in his long and lustrous career.
"This is the capstone, the cherry on top," said technology analyst Charles King. "I don't know where you go after this. He's a good man and a very able leader, and he should be exactly what Microsoft needs at this time."
Read entire article here
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_25063431/valley-exec-john-thompson-tapped-microsoft-chairman
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