Ballmer Steve: life story and biography

Steven Ballmer (Steven Ballmer) - a man who led the company for 14 years, Microsoft (2000-2014). It's amazing that he did not belong to one of the founders and did not stand at the origins of its origin. Surely many people will have questions: "How did he do it?" And "What kind of person is this?" Well, in this article you will be presented with the story of Steve Ballmer's life . So, let's get started.

Relatives

Steve's grandfather on his maternal side has spent most of his life in Belarus. With the outbreak of World War I, the Jewish family, along with other refugees, was forced to wander around Russia. Then they split: some of the relatives settled in Pinsk, building a bakery there, and all the others emigrated to the USA.

Ballmer Steve was born in Detroit in 1956. The boy's mother was a local resident, and his father, Frederick, emigrated from Switzerland and worked as a manager at Ford Motor. The persistence and will of the father had a strong influence on the character of Steve. He was an example for the boy in everything.

Learning

After graduating from school in 1973, Ballmer Steve realized that he would be able to receive his father's profession only at Harvard. During his studies, the young man was engaged not only in attending various courses and studying literature. He actively participated in student life: he led a football team, published in a pair of local publications, etc. Heavy work earned him respect and authority, gradually becoming one of the best students. And here is the result of his dedication - a bachelor's degree (economics and mathematics) and a diploma with distinction.

But more important was another event that occurred within the walls of the school. Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer met at Harvard. This had a significant impact on the life of the young man and predetermined his career.

First job

After graduation in 1977, Ballmer Steve got a job at Procter & Gamble. For two years, he served as assistant manager for sales and production. Ballmer gave himself to the business with all his heart, but the employees of the firm did not have such zeal. So Stephen decided to leave the company.

Stanford Business School

In 1979, the young man entered the Stanford Business School. Before the beginning of the lessons Ballmer actively communicated with Bill Gates. At that time, Microsoft was already quite competitive, but Steven did not even think to work there. His decision to study was hard and well thought out. And he went to business school.

job search

After finishing the first year of Balmer, Steve started looking for a job for the summer. First of all, he turned to the company "Ford", where he offered his own experience in the sphere of creating investment projects. But in the 80's, the US automotive industry was in crisis, and work in this area did not promise any prospects. And at this point in the life of Stephen appeared Bill Gates, who urgently needed a manager. The young man made a radical decision: he left the business school and went head first into the sphere of information technology.

Steve Ballmer at Microsoft

His work for the company began in June 1980. Then there were only 23 employees in the staff. Gates offered him $ 50 thousand a year plus shares of the company. By the way, at the moment 80% of Steve's own funds are stored in Microsoft shares.

After 18 years, Ballmer became president of the corporation. And in January 2000, after the departure of Bill Gates, Stephen took up the post of executive director, where he worked for another 14 years. In addition to Gates himself, he worked for Microsoft the longest. And now, thanks to the work done, the words "Ballmer Steve", "Information Technology" and "Computer Revolution" have become synonymous.

Criticism

In mid-2011, at a conference in New York, David Einhorn, head of the large hedge fund Greenlight Capital, announced that the hero of this article needs to resign. The main reason was the following: it was because of Ballmer's decisions that the software giant significantly slowed down the pace of development and lost ground in the IT markets. Einhorn believes that Stephen's work led to a long-term price stagnation of Microsoft shares and the loss of a significant part of the market for mobile computers and Internet services. "Greenlight Capital" owns 9 million shares of this company, so the hedge fund is interested in the development of the company, and not in its recourse.

Two years later, it became known about the future departure of Ballmer from the post of executive director, which happened in 2014.

Personal qualities

Stephen is known for his demand for staff. Zador, discipline and energy of Balmer, who has a reputation as a dynamic, sincere, purposeful person with a great sense of humor, was passed over the years to all employees of Microsoft. Steve stated: "I want all the staff of the firm to share my enthusiasm about our services and products. I want everyone to realize what tremendous opportunities are included in our programs that make business successful, and rest - more interesting and rich. " To recognize the superiority of Microsoft products over others, Ballmer is ready to randomly gesticulate and scream. Leadership and enthusiasm of this man manifested itself from the very beginning of his work in the company.

On the other hand, Stephen has always been quick-tempered and eccentric. This is confirmed by hundreds of publications in the press and the Internet, dedicated to the legal process between Google and Microsoft. Employees who chose Google as their new place of work spoke eloquently about Steve's inconsistency. During the statement of resignation, they had to listen to offensive phrases and dodge furniture flying in them. Ballmer himself commented on this as an excessive inflation of a minor incident.

Personal life

Microsoft helped Ballmer not only in his career, but also in his personal life. He married an employee of this firm, Connie Schneider, who worked in the department of public relations. The girl gave birth to Steve three children.

Interesting fact

There is another very interesting point, which is not revealed by each of his published biographies. Steve Ballmer plays in the "Halo" on the prefix Xbox. This computer game in the genre FPS was developed by Bangui, and released by Microsoft in 2001.

Current work

Immediately after leaving the corporation, Stephen purchased the Los Angeles Clippers basketball club, which he manages to this day. The deal amounted to $ 2 billion.