Carta de Despedida de Bill Gates

Sacado de: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/274266_gatesemail16ww.html?source=rss

Bill Gates' e-mail to employees
From: MSBILLGSent: Thursday, June 15,
2006 1:41 PMTo: Microsoft and Subsidiaries: All FTESubject: My Transition
Plans
I wanted to take a moment to share some of my thoughts, as well.
As
Steve's mail indicates, I've decided that two years from now, in July 2008, I
want to devote more time to the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation.
Right now and for the next two years, my full-time job is here at
Microsoft, and my part-time job remains the Foundation. Beginning in July 2008,
I will switch that, to be full-time at the Foundation, while remaining involved
with Microsoft as Chairman and an advisor on key development projects on a
part-time basis.
To prepare for this change, we have a well-thought-out
transition process. Again, I will continue at Microsoft full-time for the next
two years, but over the course of those two years, my day-to-day
responsibilities will shift to a team of incredible technical leaders who are
already doing amazing things at the company.
I feel very lucky that we've got
extraordinary technical leaders at the company, like Ray Ozzie and Craig Mundie,
who can step up to assume the roles that I've played. I've known Ray for the
last 20 years, and he has created some of the most important developments in the
industry. Craig and I have worked together for nearly 14 years, and he's been a
technical visionary and a leader on policy throughout his career. With Ray and
Craig stepping up, I feel very confident that the technical stewardship of
Microsoft is in very capable hands.
And I feel the same way about our
business leadership. Our core businesses are strong and we have a clear vision
for how we will meet new challenges and opportunities. We just had our first $12
billion quarter, and we continue to generate almost a billion dollars in profit
every month. We are about to launch breakthrough versions of Windows, Office and
Exchange, which are already generating a lot of excitement.
Six years ago,
Steve and I made a major transition when he stepped up to be CEO. He's done a
fantastic job by every measure, whether it's the people he's brought in, the new
ways he's running the company, or just the objective results - like doubling our
revenue in six years. Steve has driven us to make bold bets on things like Xbox,
Real Time Communications, business applications, IPTV, and many others including
the Live platform. Steve is the best CEO I could imagine for Microsoft - he is
changing the company in ways it needs to be changed. He is bringing in new
leadership at all levels. And, he is focused on the long-term - making Microsoft
a great company not just today but for decades to come.
With Steve's
organization of the company into three divisions led by our incredible
presidents - Jeff Raikes, Robbie Bach, and Kevin Johnson - we've laid a solid
foundation for greater autonomy, agility and entrepreneurial spirit in our
product groups. And with the great addition of Kevin Turner as our COO, our
leadership team has never been stronger.


Our
deep technical strength is one of the key reasons I believe Microsoft is
well-positioned for great success in the years ahead. I'm very pleased that in
addition to Ray, Craig, David and Rick, Steve has asked J Allard, Bob Muglia,
and Steven Sinofsky to play an expanded role in shaping the company's business
and technology strategy. And when you consider all of our remarkable Technical
Fellows, Distinguished Engineers, all of the brilliant researchers working at
our MSR labs around the world, and all the technical people in the business
groups, I can safely say that our technical talent has never been stronger or
deeper.
Obviously, this has been a very hard decision for me. Microsoft will
always be a huge part of my life, and I'm lucky to have two callings that are so
important and so challenging.
On a personal note, I know that my work on
global health and education issues at the Foundation would never have been
possible without the enormous success of Microsoft, so I want to thank you and
all of the employees past and present who have contributed so much to this
company.
For these last 31 years, I've had the best job in the world. I've
worked with some of the brightest and most passionate people in the world.
Together, we've built a great company whose products have empowered people
around the world.
We're only at the beginning of what software can do, and
I'm excited about the impact that Microsoft can have. I'm going to take an
extended vacation this summer with my family, but I'll be back in late August
and I look forward to working with all of you for the next two years and beyond,
to make those dreams a reality.
Thanks.

Bill