I HEART CHAOS

Earlier today, Microsoft announced that long time CEO Steve Ballmer would be stepping down within the next 12 months. Even though Windows 8 hasn’t been a big hit, the company is still making bank on its business and server software, so it’s not that Ballmer is mad you didn’t like his tiles, he’s just been with the company for a long damn time.

Ballmer has been with Microsoft since 1980, and has been CEO since 2000. A special committee—which includes chairman Bill Gates—has been formed to find his replacement. Something obvious, but interesting to see laid out explicitly, is that Ballmer and the new CEO will continue to oversee Microsoft’s “transformation to a devices and services company,” so the new CEO will likely have a background in hardware or services.

Earlier this year Ballmer was part of a failed attempt to purchase the Sacramento Kings and relocate them to Seattle, where Microsoft is located. Ballmer briefly served as head of the Xbox division last month, before former Windows executive Julie Larson-Green was named successor.

In recent years, Ballmer has been a polarizing figure at Microsoft, with many believing he’s responsible for the stagnation of Microsoft, and the culture of Microsoft not being able to get out of its own way long enough to enjoy successes that should be a matter of course.

His departure will offer Microsoft a chance to change how its corporate structure works. Ballmer will be the latest key executive to leave the company, following former Xbox chief Don Mattrick and Windows boss Steven Sinofsky.

Via