Bill Gates to retire from Microsoft at end of this week

A Harvard University dropout who ushered in the home computer age and made billions of dollars along the way will have his last official day of work at Microsoft on Friday.

Three people will fill the void left behind when Microsoft chairman Bill Gates retires from the company he and friend Paul Allen cofounded in 1975.

Since Gates began his transition from leading Microsoft to heading his personally bankrolled charity, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, his job as chief software architect has been handled by Ray Ozzie.

Craig Mundie inherited Gates’ chief research and strategy officer duties, while former Harvard classmate Steve Ballmer became chief executive officer.

Gates left Harvard after two years to found the firm that became Microsoft. He later received honorary degrees from Harvard and other universities.

After retiring, Gates will remain chairman of the Microsoft board of directors and its largest shareholder.
“I don’t think anything is going to drastically change,” said Matt Rosoff, of the private analyst firm Directions On Microsoft. “If he thinks something is important and tells Steve Ballmer, Ballmer will listen to him.”

Still, Gates’ departure may be symbolic. “The challenge Microsoft has when the founder departs is remembering its heart,” said analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group in Silicon Valley. “At some point the firm has to take the essence of what made Bill Gates successful and make sure that is preserved. Whether it is a company or a person, once you’ve lost your heart there isn’t much left but a shell.”

Enderle said there are signs that Microsoft has been struggling since Gates stepped away from managing operations.

Microsoft has “missed a number of opportunities” and the Windows and Office software on which its fortune is built have stumbled, Enderle said.

Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system has flopped with customers.

The software giant also sees its bottom line threatened by Google, which offers free online programs that compete with Office and other Microsoft products.