When Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates traded his chief executive officer title for the newly crafted chief software architect role nearly five years ago, the company spin was that he would work in areas that most interested him—and best used his talents.
Microsoft's bottom line: Gates didn't want to be so involved in the day-to-day running of the company. Turning that over to his trusted lieutenant Steve Ballmer gave Gates the time to think about future technologies and drive product development.
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