The chairmanship of Microsoft’s board of directors was managed by Bill Gates until early 2014, after which he stepped back and remained on the board. Until now, as Gates is also resigning to that position in order to focus more on his own institution.
In 2008 Gates already took a first step back to spend more time on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, although he stayed on as a board member of Microsoft. Retiring from that position does not mean that Gates is not involved in the affairs of the tech giant at all, as he will remain on as technical advisor to the current CEO, Satya Nadella.
In a statement, Nadella expresses her gratitude to Gates and looks forward to continuing to work together in the new form:
“It has been a tremendous honor to have worked with and learned from Bill. The board has benefited from his leadership and vision, and Microsoft will continue to reap the benefits of his enduring technical passion. I am grateful to Bill for our friendship and look forward to working alongside him.”
Bill Gates founded Microsoft together with Paul Allen in 1975, after which the company grew from Windows and Office, among others, into the largest software company in the world.