Microsoft said CEO Steve Ballmer will retire after the naming of a successor within the next 12 months. In announcing his sudden retirement Friday after more than three decades at Microsoft Corp.，Chief Executive Steve Ballmer will leave his successor with the enormous task of reviving one of the world’s largest technology companies that finds itself beset by competitors on all fronts.
微軟公司首席執(zhí)行官史蒂夫·鮑爾默上周五宣布，將在任命繼任者之后，于未來(lái)12個(gè)月內(nèi)退休。鮑爾默在微軟供職30余年，他將給自己的繼任者留下一個(gè)艱巨任務(wù)，即振興這家被各領(lǐng)域競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者圍困的全球最大科技公司之一。(《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》)
The surprise announcement suggests there was no planned succession，coming only about six weeks after Mr. Ballmer shuffled his entire executive suite without naming a clear No. 2.
微軟此次發(fā)布的消息令人意外，不過(guò)該公告表明公司目前尚沒(méi)有確定接班人人選。鮑爾默6星期前剛剛宣布對(duì)公司管理層進(jìn)行調(diào)整，當(dāng)時(shí)并未明確任命公司的2號(hào)人物。(《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》)
The world’s biggest software company has created a special committee to find a replacement. This committee includes Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
這家全球最大軟件公司現(xiàn)已成立一個(gè)特別委員會(huì)來(lái)尋找合適的繼任人選。該委員會(huì)成員包括微軟的創(chuàng)始人比爾·蓋茨。(英國(guó)廣播公司)
Microsoft said it would look both inside and outside the company for a replacement as Mr. Ballmer remains CEO for up to 12 months.
微軟表示，鮑爾默目前還有12個(gè)月任期，關(guān)于繼任者，將統(tǒng)籌考慮公司內(nèi)部和外部人選。(《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》)
Investors cheered the news of Mr. Ballmer’s departure，sending Microsoft shares up 7% to $34.75 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
投資者對(duì)鮑爾默即將離任的消息表示歡迎。當(dāng)日，微軟在納斯達(dá)克市場(chǎng)的股價(jià)上漲7%，至34.75美元。(《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》)
Mr. Ballmer，57 years old，along with his college buddy and Microsoft founder Bill Gates， built the company into a profit machine whose Windows operating system will still power nearly all the 305 million personal computers expected to be sold globally this year，according to research firm Gartner Inc.
鮑爾默現(xiàn)年57歲。他與大學(xué)同學(xué)、微軟創(chuàng)始人比爾·蓋茨一起，將微軟發(fā)展成為一部盈利機(jī)器。根據(jù)市場(chǎng)研究公司Gartner的數(shù)據(jù)，今年全球的個(gè)人計(jì)算機(jī)(PC)銷(xiāo)量預(yù)計(jì)將達(dá)到3.05億臺(tái)，并且?guī)缀跞珜⒉捎梦④浀腤indows操作系統(tǒng)。(《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》)
Ballmer had the misfortune to follow megastar Gates at the helm just as the company hit the end of its explosive growth period and faced a resurgent Apple Inc under an inspired Steve Jobs.
鮑爾默接任蓋茨之位時(shí)，不幸正值微軟接近爆炸式增長(zhǎng)的尾聲，并面臨來(lái)自由史蒂夫·喬布斯領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的復(fù)興中的蘋(píng)果公司的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。(路透社)
Ballmer never lacked passion and energy for the company he helped to build，but he was always more of a salesman and cheerleader than a technology visionary. Although Ballmer did treble revenues at Microsoft during his time in charge，and managed to steer the company away from obscurity or crisis that befell other tech firms，he consistently attracted criticism for management miscues. Under Ballmer’s watch，Microsoft missed the shift to smartphones and tablets，and its share price has been static for the last decade.
鮑爾默對(duì)微軟公司從不缺乏熱情和活力，但他一直更擅長(zhǎng)營(yíng)銷(xiāo)和鼓舞士氣，在科技發(fā)展方面卻沒(méi)有前瞻眼光。盡管鮑爾默在掌權(quán)期間使微軟營(yíng)收增加至三倍之多，并成功地引導(dǎo)公司避免了其他科技公司經(jīng)歷的困難和危機(jī)，但他一直遭到外界對(duì)其管理失誤的指責(zé)。在鮑爾默的監(jiān)管下，微軟錯(cuò)過(guò)了向智能手機(jī)和平板電腦轉(zhuǎn)型的時(shí)機(jī)，其公司股價(jià)在過(guò)去十年中一直毫無(wú)起色。(路透社)
Executives inside and outside Microsoft said change at the top of the company was long overdue. People briefed on Microsoft board deliberations said directors have scouted potential successors to Mr. Ballmer for years.
微軟內(nèi)部和外部管理人員均表示，微軟很久之前就應(yīng)當(dāng)進(jìn)行高管調(diào)整。聽(tīng)取了微軟董事會(huì)審議意見(jiàn)的消息人士表示，多年來(lái)，微軟董事會(huì)成員一直在尋找鮑爾默可能的接班人。(《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》)
But those people said it has been tough to find the right replacement to lead a sprawling company that has only had two CEOs in its history. Mr. Gates has sold much of his stake in Microsoft，but still wields more influence on the company’s shape than anyone else.
不過(guò)消息人士表示，對(duì)一家規(guī)模龐大，在歷史上只有過(guò)兩名首席執(zhí)行官的公司而言，找到合適的繼任人選極為困難。蓋茨已出售了其所持的大量微軟股份，但他對(duì)微軟的發(fā)展仍擁有比其他任何人更多的影響力。(《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》)