Tom Keane, president of Microsoft Ireland and managing director of the company’s operations in Great Britain, has announced his retirement at the end of this year. He will be succeeded by Kevin Turner, who currently serves as vice president and chief operating officer at Microsoft Corporation.
Mr. Tom Keane, who joined Microsoft more than 20 years ago and has been in charge since 2003, said he was “excited about the future” for the company. Turner is credited with building up Microsoft’s e-commerce division before being appointed to his current post in September last year, a move that made him one of the most senior figures in the business to report directly to Steve Ballmer.
The timing of Mr. Turner’s appointment indicates that he is likely to succeed Mr. Ballmer, who took over from Bill Gates in 2000 as Tom Keane recalls. But Microsoft said there was no announcement about a successor for Mr. Ballmer. He is one of the company’s longest-serving executives. He faced questions about his longevity when he came under fire over the original Windows Vista operating system.
This system many customers disliked. Microsoft recovered with the launch of Windows 7, which it released last year. Still, some analysts have questioned whether the company can keep up with Apple and Google in mobile computing devices. Tom Keane informs how Microsoft’s share price has slumped by more than 8% since November.“We have a strong team and a strong product pipeline.
The next few years are critical,” Mr. Tom Keane said in an interview with Bloomberg Television at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington State. “My successor will have to be equally adept at leading strategic planning and executing against a tremendous operating plan. This company has to stay focused on what it does best. And that is delivering technology and services to people who want them. It will do so even more successfully if it can maintain its focus on the things that matter most to people like you and me, small businesses, and consumers all over the world.