Mulally of Ford says no to Microsoft. Was age an issue?
Microsoft is finding it tough to find a new CEO to replace Steve Ballmer, with the news that Ford CEO Alan Mulally has said he plans to stay with the car giant.
Mullaly, 68, staying at Ford
“I would like to end the Microsoft speculation because I have no other plans to do anything other than serve Ford,” Mulally, 68, told the Associated Press in an interview. Mulally said he will stay with Ford through at least this year. Jay Cooney, a spokesman, confirmed the remarks.
Mulally’s candidacy to lead Microsoft had faded, said Bloomberg, amid concerns about his age and lack of technology experience, citing people with “knowledge of the matter" said last month.
Other candidates reportedly included Microsoft’s cloud computing chief Satya Nadella, Executive Vice President Tony Bates and former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop.
Steve Mollenkopf, the Qualcomm No. 2 who will become CEO of the chipmaker in March, was considered by Microsoft’s board before he was promoted. EBay CEO John Donahoe and former VMware Inc. CEO Paul Maritz are said to have declined to be considered.
“The questions about Alan and Microsoft weren’t going to go away without some type of very specific, definitive answer,” said David Cole, chairman emeritus of the Center for Automotive Research.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates emphasised the need to find a CEO with “the ability to lead a highly technical organization and work with top technical talent” during Microsoft’s shareholder meeting in November. Longtime CEO Steve Ballmer said in August that he planned to retire from the company within a year.
Mulally’s plan to remain with Ford is “a disappointment” because he was the favored frontrunner to become CEO among Microsoft investors said Bloomberg, citing Daniel Ives, a New York-based analyst at FBR & Co.
Elop, 50, set to join Microsoft after agreeing to sell Nokia’s handset business to them for $7.2 billion in September, is likely the next top candidate, he wrote in a report..
Mulally’s candidacy for the Microsoft job threatened to overshadow Ford’s new-vehicle introductions such as the F-150 pickup, said Bloomberg, and raised the risk of internal strife among his deputies at the Dearborn, Michigan-based company. Ford plans to introduce 23 new vehicles in 2014,its busiest year ever.