Arguably one of the most iconic technology leaders the world has ever seen, Bill Gates is stepping down from the board of Microsoft. According to an announcement issued by Microsoft, Gates stepped down from the company’s Board of Directors to dedicate more time to his philanthropic priorities including global health, development, education, and his increasing engagement in tackling climate change.
He will continue in his position of a technical advisor to company CEO Satya Nadella.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft over 4 decades ago, when computers and the current information technology age as we see, were fairly nascent. Gates led the company all the way through from its inception to as recent as 2008. In 2008, he decided to step down from the company’s operational responsibilities and focus more on philanthropy through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He continued to remain on the board though, and even chaired the same till as recent as 2014.
Going forward, he will be more of an occasional advisor to Nadella and his team, dedicating himself completely to philanthropy. “It’s been a tremendous honor and privilege to have worked with and learned from Bill over the years. Bill founded our company with a belief in the democratizing force of software and a passion to solve society’s most pressing challenges. And Microsoft and the world are better for it”, Nadella said in a press statement issued by the company.
We won’t go down to create a full Microsoft/Bill Gates history, since all of its well documented and well known. Microsoft was, and continues to be, a pioneering brand in the field of technology, and specially software. Much of that success can be credited to Gates’ leadership of the company in both tough and good times.
The updated Microsoft board is as follows:
John W. Thompson, Microsoft independent chair; Reid Hoffman, partner at Greylock Partners; Hugh Johnston, vice chairman and chief financial officer of PepsiCo; Teri L. List-Stoll, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Gap, Inc.; Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft; Sandra E. Peterson, operating partner, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice; Penny Pritzker, founder and chairman, PSP Partners; Charles W. Scharf, chief executive officer and president of Wells Fargo & Co.; Arne Sorenson, president and CEO, Marriott International Inc.; John W. Stanton, chairman of Trilogy Equity Partners; Emma Walmsley, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK); and Padmasree Warrior, founder, CEO and president, Fable Group Inc.
