Bill Gates: Transitioning into the Future

Posted By: Charles | Jun 23rd, 2008 @ 8:58 AM | 128,001 Views | 27 Comments
Bill Gates has been at the helm of Microsoft for the entire existence of Microsoft. It's the only place he's worked and he's getting ready to step down from his day to day responsibilities in his office on the Redmond campus. Bill's employment future will be centered around running his philanthropic enterprise, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill is fundamentally shifting his focus from achieving his dream of "a PC in every home" to helping realize the vision of "healthy people in every country". He talks about how each one of us can help make this dream come true by donation of time, expertise and, of course, money.

Charles caught up with Bill to discuss his transition from full time at Microsoft to full time at his global philanthropic foundation (he will still be involved with major decisions given that he will retain his post as the Chairman of Microsoft and his email address will still be functional Smiley).

Questions addressed in this conversation include: What's on Bill's mind as he prepares to step away from his full time responsibilities at Microsoft? What was his rationale for making the decision? What was behind his decision to put Ray Ozzie in the role of Microsoft Chief Software Architect? What does a CSA actually do? Why is Microsoft so focused on competing with Google and is search as important as we think? What's top of mind for Bill that Developers who target our platform should pay attention to now and in the next decade? How can Microsoft become more agile given the complexity that arises from so much asynchronous innovation spanning disparate product units? Why does Windows still matter in an Internet world?

Enjoy. This is a good one. Thank you again, Bill, for your support of C9 over the years, the incredible innovation you brought to market and the incredible generosity of your foundation.
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#Jun 24th, 2008 @ 10:25 AM
Charles
Charles
Welcome Change
Thank you for the kind words, Ben.
C
#Jun 24th, 2008 @ 10:35 AM
SlackmasterK
SlackmasterK
I write my OWN blogging engines
Just noticed the new C9 video player.  Much improved, guys.
#Jun 24th, 2008 @ 6:34 PM
steveballmer
steveballmer
Bill will be sorely missed!


http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
#Jun 25th, 2008 @ 5:53 AM
digimint
digimint
It was probably the first time I saw an interview with Bill where he was not a keynote or being asked generic questions from a Larry King type.  Charles interview skills and preperation are excellent.  Bill is obviously adept at covering any subject in his sphere which is deep and broad.  His vision of creating and making more leaders at MSFT more visible and spreading the brains around makes a lot of sense.  I'd love to be in one of those meetings when customers tell them that their product(s) is not measuring up.....Charles has an opportunity to go there i.e. Vista but it seems to be a mandate to keep it all positive. 
#Jun 25th, 2008 @ 8:56 AM
lancefisher
lancefisher
This is one of the best interviews with Bill Gates that I've seen.  Good work Charles, and thanks Bill.
#Jun 25th, 2008 @ 11:07 AM
Charles
Charles
Welcome Change

Glad you like dit! Re Vista, Bill does address Windows, specifically. The context for this conversation is the future and Vista is here now... He explains how he thinks Windows will remain pertinent in an increasingly Internet-connected world of servers and services that provide data for any device. I thought his answer was spot on: Windows will drive service innovation and provide the mechanisms for truly rich user experiences that consume from the cloud.

Cheers,
C

#Jun 27th, 2008 @ 9:42 AM
raymond
raymond

Great interview.

Congratulations Charles.

Will you be interviewing Ray Ozzie next for Channel 9?

The smiley has gone through many incarnations over the years, but it consistently retains the same features. ("Kolobok" type)

#Jun 28th, 2008 @ 1:31 AM
ibrahim durmus
ibrahim durmus

It is really fascinating to hear from BillG what is gonna be next for us!

Thanks,
Ibrahim

http://www.ibrahimdurmus.com/

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