Potential candidates who can succeed Steve Ballmer at Microsoft

Microsoft has a stable of senior executives who could succeed Steve Ballmer. Here is a list of potential internal candidates:

1) Tony Bates, Corporate strategy

PRO: He was the CEO of Skype, which represents the new wave of internet-centric, consumer-focused technology that co has had difficulty replicating.

CON: Too short a time at MS

2) Kevin Turner, COO

PRO: Former Wal-Mart Stores exec is the power behind co’s fearsome sales operation.

CON: No engineering background.

3) Qi Lu, Search and Internet

PRO: A heavyweight in the online search and advertising area. He is in charge of putting MS’ software businesses onto the Web, a crucial part of Ballmer’s reorganisation plan.

CON: Under him, Bing cost co billions of dollars.

4) Terry Myerson, Operating systems

PRO: His software company was bought by Microsoft in the late 1990s, and he might bring a startup mentality to the top job.

CON: He ran the Windows Phone unit and was not very successful.

5) Jeff Raikes, Philanthropy, ex-Office chief

PRO: Bill Gates picked Raikes to be the CEO of his philanthropic foundation. Raikes' understanding of Gates’ thinking and steady hand might be an effective combination.

CON: He may be out of touch with the latest technology trends.

6) John Thompson, Search committee leader

PRO: The former IBM executive went on to be CEO of Symantec. He has experience of a large company reinventing itself.

CON: No direct experience of management.

7) Julie Larson-Green, Xbox gaming console and Surface tablet

PRO: A 20-year veteran, she has intimate knowledge of Office and Windows units

CON: Surface tablet has had poor sales.

8) Eric Rudder, Research and technology

PRO: This deeply tech-savvy exec is the nearest the company has to a big thinker in the mould of Bill Gates.

CON: Never been a business unit leader.

9) Satya Nadella, Cloud and enterprise

PRO: This 21-year Microsoft veteran is a native of Hyderabad and completed his bachelors electrical engineering from Mangalore University. Nadella knows the inner workings of the company, especially the hot areas of servers, data centers and online services. He controls the infrastructure behind the ‘services’ side of Microsoft's new vision.

CON: He might struggle to impose authority over the all-powerful Windows and Office factions, the wellsprings of the company’s profits which are famously antagonistic to one another.

Punter's Choice:

Ladbrokes opened up betting on successors for Ballmer. Top contenders follow:

Stephen Elop, CEO, Nokia Corp:

- He led Microsoft’s business division before becoming chief executive of the Finnish firm Nokia in 2010.

- Senior Nokia employees say he has forced them to make faster decisions

Others:

Kevin Turner, COO, Microsoft

Steve Sinofsky

Julie Larson-Green, Head of devices and studios, Microsoft