Three of Microsoft's biggest investors are petitioning the company's board members, asking for the resignation of Bill Gates as chairman. A Reuters report cited "people familiar with the matter."
The investors, who together hold more than 5% of Microsoft's shares (per Reuters), believe that Gates might circumscribe the power of the next chief executive, preventing him or her from developing new strategies and making "substantial changes." They are also reportedly concerned that Gates, who has spent the last 13 years focused on his own foundation and now only owns about 4.5% of Microsoft's shares, holds too much executive power relative to his holdings.
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A Microsoft spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The news comes just days after Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who is planning to retire within the next 12 months, bid a teary farewell to company employees. Ballmer, who took over from Gates in 2000, was not the most popular CEO — CNBC and Forbes both ranked him among the worst CEOs of 2012. His approval rating on the employee review site Glassdoor is just 47%. Mark Zuckerberg holds a 97% rating on the same site.
The fact that these investors are lobbying for Gates' resignation underlines a belief that more needs to be done to overhaul Microsoft, whose market capitalization today, at $249 billion, is less than half its 1999 high.
As Reuters points out, however, the board is free to ignore the investors' petitioning should it fail to gain further momentum among shareholders.
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