Who Will Replace Steve Ballmer?

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's announcement Friday that he plans to retire within the next 12 months comes at an awkward time for the company, which has not groomed an apparent successor.

That may indicate that the move was really a surprise. Ballmer has previously intimated that he had no intention to retire. Disappointing sales for Windows 8 may have increased the pressure on Ballmer, but it was far from conventional wisdom that Ballmer would cede the reins by 2014.

Insiders

Ballmer was only Microsoft's second CEO, making it hard to discern a pattern. So far, however, the company has promoted from within. Forrester analyst Frank Gillett expects that to be the case this time as well. Among the shortlist at Microsoft are Qi Lu, Eric Rudder and Kirill Tatarinov, Gillett speculates. Other less likely internal candidates include COO Kevin Turner and Julie Larson-Green, the company's EVP of devices and studios, Gillett says. Read more...