Bloomberg Says Microsoft Will Announce A New CEO By Year End

Sure this is just another confirmation of the rumor (if rumors can be confirmed) that Microsoft wants a new CEO before the year is out. But hey, it’s nice to hear it from another source.

Sources close to the matter have hinted that Microsoft is planning to land a new CEO before the end of the year. Several names have also been floated up that are under the company’s radar.

Obviously, this is speculation, and Microsoft has not come out and said anything in this regard. But it seems increasingly likely that the company is set to escalate its search for a new leader — the board, it seems, wants the new person to take charge before the end of the year.

While outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer announced a few months back that he intends to step down within a year (or when a successor is found), the most probable reason for this hurry is that it will allow the incoming leader to oversee the development of new products from the start.

Microsoft is almost done with the development work on Windows 8.1, along with its server and enterprise software. And on the hardware side, the refreshed Surface slates are ready for primetime.

Anyway, Bloomberg is reporting that so far into its search for a new CEO, Redmond has had discussions with Ford CEO Alan Mulally, former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, former Microsoftie Paul Maritz, and Tony Bates, the company’s business development and evangelism boss.

Evidently, many of these names have been reported in the media.

Insider sources have revealed that along with these abovementioned fine gentlemen, the company also had discussions with a few other business leaders. For example, the CEO of eBay, John Donahoe was invited to a brief round of negotiations, but he quickly declined joining Microsoft.

The Verge also has something to add into the mix. In its report, everything comes down to the Nokia acquisition. Redmond wants to find someone to take over the vacant seat before the deal is completed in early 2014.

In any case, expect to see a new face on the hot seat at Microsoft sooner rather than later.