Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer is the worst CEO of any large publicly traded American company, according toForbes. The executive sits atop of a list that contains the CEOs of other large companies such as Cisco, General Electric, Walmart and Sears. The publication highlights how Ballmer has “singlehandedly steered Microsoft out of some of the fastest growing and most lucrative tech markets (mobile music, handsets and tablets),” and in the process has sacrificed the growth and profits of other companies — Dell, Hewlett Packard and Nokia — within the Microsoft ecosystem. When Ballmer began his tenure as the software giant’s CEO in 2000, the company’s stock peaked at $60 per share. Within two years, the stock had tumbled into the $20-range and has just recently made a comeback to the low $30s. 

“So today Microsoft, after dumping Zune, dumping its tablet, dumping Windows CE and other mobile products, is still the same company Mr. Ballmer took control over a decade ago. Microsoft is PC company, nothing more, as demand for PCs shifts to mobile,” Forbes contributor Adam Hartung said. “Years late to market, he has bet the company on Windows 8 – as well as the future of Dell, HP, Nokia and others. An insane bet for any CEO – and one that would have been avoided entirely had the Microsoft Board replaced Mr. Ballmer years ago with a CEO that understands the fast pace of technology shifts and would have kept Microsoft current with market trends.”

Microsoft, along with the four other companies named in the feature, are on the same route as Research in Motion, Best Buy and American Airlines according to the report, and unless the companies’ boards take action, they could end up seeing the same eventual fate.

“Mr. Ballmer should not be allowed to take such incredible risks with investor money and employee jobs,” Hartung wrote. “Best he be retired to enjoy his fortune rather than deprive investors and employees of building theirs.”

http://www.bgr.com/2012/05/14/microsoft-steve-ballmer-worst-ceo/

*claps* Well done Steve. 

Developers!

Lol.

I guess MS is still a big company but it could have been much much greater.

The CEO that has kept the company within the 200 billion dollar value, steered the Xbox brand into profitability and defied friend and foe to apoint the man who is currently running the Windows business more effectively than even is the worst CEO of a American company that's apperantly going the way of RIM?

lmao, seems legit...

This is the sort of silly article you expect from someone that doesn't understand business or stock prices, not from somewhere like forbes. MS Stock price was massively overvalued in 2000 and is undervalued now. Balmer has massively increased market share (especially in enterprise space), massively increased profit, sales and revenue while at the same time containing costs. Has he made mistakes in some of the consumer space, yep, but they should be more than outweighed by all the good he has done the company.

I think MS got blindsided by iOS and Android, just as RIM and Nokia did.

RIM tried to evolve, but never quite got it.

Nokia gave up and left themselves in MS hands.

MS quickly made a new mobile OS that can compete with the big boys and is about to launch that product in some flavor to mobile and desktop. However, it may not go well and it is very late to the party.

I think MS should continue with integration and what is has with WP, but it should do so not at the expense of the very popular desktop OS basic setup. Instead it should take a look at Android and see how its latest versions simply provide uniquely different and specific views of Android ICS in phone and tablet form. Extend on that to have three basic UIs with desktop being the third. It can be done while also incorporating fully application support very easily.

With MS base in desktops, they'd quickly close the gap on mobile apps as Win8 should be very good and downsizing a desktop application for tablets (pretty much identical) and phones (def downsized). Once you have that integration, Win8 would definitely take off on all platforms.

However, I think MS is going to force the same Metro UI on desktops which probably isn't a good idea and might create another WinME/Vista type of backlash.... at least until Win9 comes out with forced Metro removed.

2013 will be an interesting year for mobile and desktop OS.

What a stupid article. MS is doing extremely well, especially since 2005. Windows 7, Xbox 360, Office, Azure are all doing well. They are betting heavily on the cloud and seem to do the right things.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/953615/microsoft-announces-largest-cloud-customer-ever-all-india-council-for-technical-education-to-reach-7-million-with-live-edu

When Ballmer took over MS, they had 22bn USD revenue. Now they are reporting 66bn USD. 3 times as much as he started 12 years ago and he is the worst CEO? Come on.

Suddenly, if you don't do an Apple, you are screwed!?

Agreed. These so called "Analysts" need to take their heads out of Apple a** once in a while. Maybe then they can stop talking sh**. Just because Apple are having the luck of the draw at the moment doesn't mean other companies aren't bringing some good products and services to the table. The mass market is extremely fickle and as such will latch on to the next popular company. Wash, Rinse and repeat.