Steve Ballmer(1)

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Achievement

President and Chief Executive Officer Microsoft Corp. since 2000

Biography

Ballmer, born in March 1956, grew up near Detroit, where his father worked as a manager at Ford Motor Co. He graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics. While in college, Ballmer managed the football team, worked on the Harvard Crimson newspaper as well as the university literary magazine and roomed down the hall from fellow sophomore Gates. After college, he worked for two years at Procter & Gamble Co. as an assistant product manager and, before joining Microsoft, attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Ballmer's responsibilities include boosting the business discipline and performance of all Microsoft's existing and emerging businesses as well as continuing to improve customer satisfaction. Ballmer also is focused on reinventing the Microsoft working environment so that the company is even more responsive to changing customer needs, new technologies and market dynamics.

Ballmer has held a number of positions since joining Microsoft in 1980. Most recently, president, responsible for broadening the leadership of the company and positioning it to take advantage of future growth opportunities. Prior to that, he was executive vice president of sales and support, where he drove all activities related to Microsoft's sales, support and marketing. He shaped the new model of broad customer service in the '90s, building and maintaining comprehensive long-term relationships with customers.

Ballmer also has been responsible for leading Microsoft's channel efforts, and has been instrumental in forging strategic relationships with key business associates at every level of the value chain. He is a member of Microsoft's Business Leadership Team, which shares responsibility with Bill Gates and 12 other senior executives for broad strategic and business planning for the entire company.

A graduate of Harvard University, Ballmer earned a degree in applied math and economics and later worked at Procter & Gamble Co. as an assistant product manager. He then attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is also a member of the Stanford Business School Advisory Council. In his free time, he enjoys working out at the gym, jogging and playing basketball.

Steve Ballmer is chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp., the world's leading manufacturer of software for personal and business computing. Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 and was the first business manager hired by Bill Gates. Since then, Ballmer's passion and leadership have become hallmarks of his tenure at the company.

During the past 20 years, Ballmer has headed several Microsoft divisions, including operations, operating systems development, and sales and support. In July 1998, he was promoted to president, a role that gave him day-to-day responsibility for running Microsoft. He was named CEO in January 2000, assuming full management responsibility for the company, including delivering on the company's vision of "empowering people through great software - any time, any place and on any device."

Chronology

1957 Born

1980 Joins Microsoft

1998 President of Microsoft

2000 January 13 CEO of Microsoft

Honors and awards