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Microsoft
Corp
Steve Ballmer Chief executive Officer of
Microsoft Corp., played a significant role in the
international expansion of the firm. Microsoft has also been
engaged in an ambusious policy to aid the fight against
Malaria in Africa.Microsoft is the world's leading
manufacturer of software for personal and business computing.
Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 and was the first business
manager hired by Bill Gates. Since then, Ballmer's passion and
leadership have become hallmarks of his tenure at the company.
During the past 20 years, Ballmer has headed several Microsoft divisions, including
operations, operating systems development, and sales and support. In July 1998, he was promoted to
president, a role that gave him day-to-day responsibility for running Microsoft. He was named CEO in January 2000, assuming full management responsibility for the
company, including delivering on the company's vision of
"empowering people through great software - any time, any place and on any
device."
Ballmer is known inside and outside the company for his devotion to building closer relationships with Microsoft customers and partners - and for ensuring their needs are
heard, understood and served by every Microsoft employee. The foundation for this relationship - and the success of the company - is the reliable and powerful Windows 2000
platform, which was designed to support the most demanding enterprise and e-commerce
needs.
Ballmer also is presently leading the most comprehensive reinvention of Microsoft in the company's 25
years. Together with Gates and the company's other technical leaders, Ballmer will lead Microsoft's development of a revolutionary Microsoft .NET platform for desktop personal computers,
servers, non-PC devices and the Internet. Microsoft's goal is to provide the platform to enable a seamless experience across different computing
devices, software services and data sources, putting a unified face on a wide variety of digital interactions.
Although Microsoft will provide some important customer services, the company's success will depend on thousands of new and current partners creating innovative customer solutions on the
platform. Ballmer understands that Microsoft must be part of a community of
partners, each providing a special focus and added value.
Described variously as ebullient, focused, funny,
passionate, sincere, hard charging and dynamic, Ballmer has infused Microsoft with his own brand of energetic discipline and spirit over the
years. Ballmer says, "I want everyone to share my passion for our products and services. I want people to understand the
amazing, positive way our software can make leisure time more
enjoyable, and work and businesses more successful."
Ballmer, born in March 1956, grew up near Detroit, where his father worked as a manager at Ford Motor
Co. He graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and
economics. While in college, Ballmer managed the football team, worked on the Harvard Crimson newspaper as well as the university literary magazine and roomed down the hall from fellow sophomore
Gates. After college, he worked for two years at Procter & Gamble
Co. as an assistant product manager and, before joining Microsoft, attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Ballmer jogs daily and loves
basketball.
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