Matthew Chapman
Mar 06, 2014

Microsoft ex-CEO Steve Ballmer explains gravity of his Nokia acquisition

Ballmer said the Nokia buy was the hardest strategic decision he made as boss, speaking at Oxford’s Said Business School

Microsoft ex-CEO Steve Ballmer explains gravity of his Nokia acquisition

Speaking at Oxford’s Saïd Business School on 4 March, Ballmer said he had to make the crucial decision with the board about the £4.6bn acquisition "in the context of me not being around forever".

He said: "It’s important because the name of the company is Micro…soft. Software was a fundamental part of the founding principles."

Ballmer explained that the company’s origins as a software company have been transformed by the arrival of the Xbox console and the Surface tablet, and now the acquisition of Nokia.

He said: "We now have a profile that will end up being far more mixed in the future and that is a pretty fundamental change to the way we sell, identify ourselves, think, and express our values and innovation."

Ballmer said the Nokia acquisition would be the only "non-people" decision he would put on the list of toughest decisions, because all the others on the list were based around the firing and promoting of people.

In the Q&A session, Ballmer also admitted that despite Nokia’s acquisition being such a tough decision, with "20-20 hindsight" his biggest regret as boss was not putting the "hardware and software together soon enough".

The article first appeared on Marketingmagazine.co.uk

Source:
Campaign India

Related Articles

Just Published

10 hours ago

Adobe’s APAC CMO: ‘There is a balance between ...

Duncan Egan weighs-in on how much AI should be relied upon and how much B2B marketing is changing, in his own role as a marketer to marketers.

11 hours ago

When the pavement becomes a cancer ward

A gut-punching film from St. Jude India spotlights how unsafe shelter, not treatment, threatens young cancer patients’ survival in metro cities.

11 hours ago

Theblurr bets big on AI to redraw agency rules

The newly-launched AI-native marketing agency promises faster pods, sharper outcomes and no more media-creative silos—or excuses.

12 hours ago

What makes a 'new-age agency' in 2025? Not hype

Speed, soul, and strategy now define creative partnerships—because in today’s feed-fuelled world, relevance fades faster than your next scroll, says Vamos Digital founder.