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Ballmer buzz

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Mary Bruno

Tongues continue to wag over Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s sudden resignation on Friday. Was it his decision to leave? Or was he pushed out? Did Bill Gates do a little shoving? Is that why Ballmer neglected to thank or even mention his former boss in the letter announcing his departure? Who should replace Ballmer? How the heck can a leaderless  — and newly-reorganized — Microsoft manage in the meantime? (And my own burning question: Are Steve Ballmer and the guy who plays Jay on the sitcom Modern Family the same person?) Some of the best insider dish can be found at Kara Swisher’s AllThingsD blog. Swisher says Ballmer’s exit was indeed more sudden and less smooth than planned and depicted by Microsoft; that while Bill Gates never asked Ballmer to leave, he didn’t — as he has in the past — insist that his old friend stay, either; and that poor business performance (like building a LOT more Surface tablets than it could sell) and the specter of a proxy fight hastened Ballmer’s exit. About that proxy fight, Swisher says the predatory hedge fund ValueAct Capital, which has a stake in Microsoft, really wants a seat on the the company's board. Its chances of getting one were better if Ballmer stayed. Explained one Swisher source: “Ballmer finally realized that [with ValueAct on the board] it was going to be the hard way from then on out until he left and he did not want that for a company he clearly loves.”

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Mary Bruno

By Mary Bruno

Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,