Ever since we learned that Steve Ballmer would be stepping down as the CEO of Microsoft, speculation has run wild regarding who would fill those large shoes. The position is not as easy to fill as you may think – it’s a large and diverse company, the sort of thing that most corporations would use several people to cover.
However, several names have risen to the top, ones we’ve been hearing over and over. Now the largest of those has removed himself from the running. Alan Mulally, former head of Boeing and current president of Ford will not be making the move to Redmond, Washington.
Until now, Mulally has avoided the subject completely, ducking any and all speculation. That door which seemed to remain open, has slammed shut today. “I would like to end the Microsoft speculation because I have no other plans to do anything other than serve Ford,” Mulally said in an interview.
It’s good news for the auto maker, who Mulally turned around during his time there. But the prognosis isn’t as good for Microsoft. The software maker certainly would have benefitted from this tenure, even if brief. News of the decision brought a surge in Ford stock prices, while Microsoft shares dropped slightly.
