Microsoft has announced changes to its board of directors today, with
co-founder and former CEO Bill Gates stepping down from the board to focus on his philanthropic priorities. "He will continue to serve as Technology Advisor to CEO Satya Nadella and other leaders in the company," the Redmond software maker announced.
Back in 2008, Gates transitioned out of his role as the CEO of the company to spend more time on his work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and then continued to serve as Microsoft’s chairman of the board until February 4, 2014.
“It’s been a tremendous honor and privilege to have worked with and learned from Bill over the years," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
said.
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. The board has benefited from Bill’s leadership and vision. And Microsoft will continue to benefit from Bill’s ongoing technical passion and advice to drive our products and services forward. I am grateful for Bill’s friendship and look forward to continuing to work alongside him to realize our mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
Bill Gates also leaves the board of Berkshire Hathaway
Gates is also leaving the board of Berkshire Hathaway. In a LinkedIn post, he announced the decision of stepping down from both of the public boards on which he was serving.
"The leadership at the Berkshire companies and Microsoft has never been stronger, so the time is right to take this step," Gates wrote. "Serving on the Berkshire board has been one of the greatest honors of my career."
The former Microsoft CEO added that stepping down from Microsoft's board doesn't mean "stepping away from the company."
"Microsoft will always be an important part of my life’s work and I will continue to be engaged with Satya and the technical leadership to help shape the vision and achieve the company’s ambitious goals," Gates
wrote. "I feel more optimistic than ever about the progress the company is making and how it can continue to benefit the world."
The new Microsoft board now consists of the following 12 members
- 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)
- Padmasree Warrior, founder, CEO and president, Fable Group Inc.
