Apologies for an OnT message, but here is info on the shakeup at MSFT. Apparently CNBC reported this morning that Rick Belluzzo might be interested in the CEO spot at TMTA. This info thanks to "mybuddy3" on the Yahoo board. Interesting the "smoke" recently linking MSFT and TMTA. Is there a fire?
Why Microsoft President Quit
By Michelle Delio
9:00 a.m. April 4, 2002 PST
The reasons for Wednesday's sudden resignation of Microsoft's chief operating officer had much to do with CEO Steve Ballmer's anticipation of a possible negative outcome in its antitrust trial, sources say.
President and COO Rick Belluzzo was a victim of a restructuring plan designed to ensure that Microsoft can survive both an uncertain economy and a possible breakup of the company.
The plan, which sources said was designed primarily by Ballmer, forced Belluzzo out after a little more than a year as president.
Microsoft (MSFT) confirmed in a statement that the company has implemented a restructuring plan that splits its main businesses into seven units, each with a chief executive directly responsible for that unit's operations and profits. But it also said the restructuring has nothing to do with its antitrust trial.
Still, company sources insist that every major move the software giant makes is calculated to help it survive any government-ordered split-up. "The company is also very aware of the need to prepare now in case the antitrust trial turns ugly," said a seven-year employee. "Believe me, things that the press is hearing about today as new initiatives were fully planned out as contingency actions years ago. Nothing happens on the spur of the moment here.
"The word around campus is also that Ballmer wants to make it easy to cut off heads if divisions don't do well, instead of having to fire one chief executive like Rick," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Microsoft said Wednesday that the heads of its seven key divisions -- Microsoft Windows, server software, MSN, business solutions, home entertainment, the CE operating system, and knowledge management -- would become de facto presidents, fully responsible for profit and loss in their respective divisions.
Rick Sherlund, an analyst with Goldman Sachs, told an AP reporter that he doubted the move reflected problems with Belluzzo's performance.
But sources inside Microsoft said that Belluzzo's control over projects had been systematically pulled away from him, "a sure sign on the Microsoft campus that you should start drafting an announcement indicating a need to spend more time with your family," another Microsoft employee said.
Before being appointed amid much fanfare last year, Belluzzo focused on the company's consumer operations, including the Xbox game system, MSN Messenger instant messaging system and the Ultimate TV service. Belluzzo also was instrumental early on in the company's .NET initiative.
"Rick enjoyed coming up with new ideas for products and services, but the ones he focused most on weren't our big money-makers," the games programmer said. "I think he didn't want to be just a guy who signed off on paperwork, and that's essentially what his job became. He had been pulled off the brainstorming committees for all his big projects over the past four months."
Analysts also suspected that Belluzzo resigned in part due to loss of control over his pet projects. "They gave him a fun job and then took away the fun stuff," speculated Rob Enderle of Giga Information Group. Sources within the company confirmed that Belluzzo wasn't having much fun in the last few months.
"According to a company memo, Rick was told by Steve (Ballmer) that he needed to cut costs at Microsoft, and he had to hand over a lot of his management responsibilities to division managers," the games programmer said. "The company has definitely been moving to form almost autonomous units over the past couple of years, in response to the possibility of antitrust action. One president that rules over all doesn't fit that scenario.
"Rick had to know his days were numbered." "It does look like he was pushed out, just because of the way the restructuring is set up," Tim Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies, told a Reuters reporter.
Belluzzo did not comment on specifics but said in a statement: "Given where Steve and I knew we needed to take the business, I decided it was the right time to pursue my goal of leading my own company."
Microsoft has no plans to appoint a successor, according to a statement released by the company. Ballmer remains chief executive officer and co-founder Bill Gates retains the titles of chairman and chief software architect.
Belluzzo said he plans to stay in his current position until May, and will remain with the company until September to organize the transition.
AI
