Microsoft investors push for Bill Gates' removal as chairman

Little more than a month after Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced his own impending retirement, some investors are pushing to get founder Bill Gates removed from his role as chairman of the board.

On Tuesday, Reuters cited anonymous sources as saying that three of the top 20 Microsoft investors were lobbying the board to press for Gates to step down as chairman.

The investors apparently are worried that:

1. Gates’ continued presence as chairman blocks the company adopting new strategies.
2. His role as chairman would limit the power of a new CEO to make big changes. Specifically, the investors pointed to Gates’ position on the special committee tasked with finding a replacement for Ballmer - perhaps fearing Gates would try and install someone who was likely to make decisions that he would approve of, or whom he could easily influence.
3. He has more power than he should, given his declining shareholding. According to Reuters, Gates “sells about 80 million Microsoft shares a year under a pre-set plan, which if continued would leave him with no financial stake in the company by 2018”.

Together, the three investors own more than 5% (about AU$14.92 billion) of the company’s stock.

Gates himself owns about 4.5% of the company and is its largest individual shareholder.

The sources said that there’s no indication that the board would heed the three investors’ wishes.

Reuters said the sources “requested the identity of the investors be kept anonymous because the discussions were private”.

Microsoft has declined to comment on the report.

Pictured: Bill Gates