Following the news, Microsoft’s shares shot up 8 percent in morning trading.
In the company statement, Ballmer said, “”There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time.”
BBC News reports that Ballmer is currently overseeing Microsoft’s transition into a devices and services company.
Microsoft has set up a special committee to find Ballmer’s replacement. It will include Microsoft’s founder, Bill Gates. Gates took over Gates’ top company position in 2000. The committee will be led by lead independent board director John Thompson.
“The board is committed to the effective transformation of Microsoft to a successful devices and services company,” Thompson said. “As this work continues, we are focused on selecting a new CEO to work with the company’s senior leadership team to chart the company’s course and execute on it in a highly competitive industry.”
Ballmer and Gates met in 1973 at Harvard, where they lived near each other in the school’s dormitory.
Microsoft has recently struggled to adapt to the changing conditions of the technology market. While most businesses run on the popular Windows operating system, the company hasn’t responded as well to consumers’ growing tendency to use tablets and smartphones over laptop and desktop PCs.
Last month, Ballmer announced organizational changes to help the company adapt. It involves moving away from a “divisional organization,” in which different departments keep all work separate from other departments, to a “functional organization,” where all divisions work more closely together. This is similar to Apple’s corporate structure, which Steve Jobs insisted on.
