Former Microsoft senior executive Joachim Kempin has said that the company’s current chief Steve Ballmer is not the right leader and that he forces out managers who seem to be challenging his authority, Reuters has reported.
In his book, Kempin, who served Microsoft between 1983 and 2002, has criticised working methods of Steve Ballmer, implying that the latter does not promote healthy competition and that he would not be pleased if someone showed better skills than him and posed threat to his position in the company.
He even suggests Microsoft bring change in its management if the company wants to stay in the market. He said:
“For Microsoft to really get back in the game seriously, you need a big change in management. As much as I respect Steve Ballmer, he may be part of that in the end.”
Kempin also mentioned Richard Belluzzo, who worked as chief operating officer for Microsoft for just 14 months, and said:
“He (Belluzzo) had no room to breathe on the top. When you work that directly with Ballmer and Ballmer believes ‘maybe this guy could someday take over from me’, my God, you will have less air to breathe, that’s what it comes down to.”
While such criticism is not very common, these words that have come from a former senior executive of the company might carry some weight. The company has so far not commented on the development. Kempin has taken a critical approach not just on commenting about the company’s chief; in fact he has also highlighted some opportunities that, according to him, should have been pursued by the company, but it did not.
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