WSJ: Microsoft CEO prospects fear Ballmer looking over their shoulders

Why is it taking Microsoft so long to find a new CEO? Unnamed sources tell The Wall Street Journal that candidates are worried about the potential influence of Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer, both of whom are likely to remain on the company’s board of directors even after the new CEO is chosen. Specifically, one source says that CEO candidates “know that part of what they are negotiating for is the level of engagement” that Gates and Ballmer will have with the company after they’re hired. The Journal’s sources also say that “some candidates for the top post at Microsoft seem to be particularly uneasy about Mr. Ballmer,” who has made “several recent decisions that have altered the company’s strategy and generated controversy among managers and investors.”