Bill Gates to quit fulltime work for Microsoft in 2008

Blogged live by Mike during news conference call
Microsoft chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates plans to quit fulltime work for the software company he founded. In a joint press conference with CEO Steve Ballmer timed to begin after the Thursday markets closed, Gates said he will quit Microsoft fulltime in July 2008 to concentrate on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He said he will continue fulltime as Microsoft chairman until then, working part time for the charitable organization.
“I have been given great wealth and I believe that with great wealth comes great responsibility, to give back to society to… help those most in need,” he said.
Gates reiterated his promise to give away most of his personal fortune, estimated at well over $40 billion.
The two-year transition plan will involve a team of Microsoft executives, with Gates immediately giving up his role as Chief Software Architect to Chief Technical Officer Ray Ozzie.
He called the decision to step down difficult, but said the foundation’s charity work was one of his great passions and that he looked forward to devoting more time to it. “It’s not a retirement (but) a reordering of my priorities.”
Gates was followed by Steve Ballmer, who stressed that he will continue his role as chief executive and that the company was “ready and capable of making a smooth transition to a team of new leaders without missing a beat.”
In a question and answer time, Gates said he envisioned having a some sort of role with Microsoft “for the rest of my life” but that his charitable work would be the major focus of his life once the transition is complete.
“The value of my time there (at the foundation) to shape things will really be quite great.”