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Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

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Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#101

Post by mbesto »

sytelus wrote: post #44
daxfohl wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kind of odd, being an employee there, I've never heard of eleven of the twelve board members before.

Most of the board members seem to be partners at various investment firms. Many of them don't seem to even remotely tech people. It's kind of sad that the Microsoft board lacks any external visionaries.

Board members focus on things like governance and fiduciary responsibilities, not on what the next version of Windows is going to be.

You'll find that most VCs are also not "even remotely tech people". Guess what - they also happen to sit on many tech startup boards.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#102

Post by zizee »

vesinisa wrote: post #60
a13n wrote: post #6

I would guess that Bill Gates has been looking to do this for a while now, and this is just a good time PR-wise. It won't tank the stock anymore than it already has because the market's crashing, and people have other stuff to worry about.

Eh, I honestly don't think he has to care how much any news would marginally affect the stock or not. Unless he actually cares if he or Bezos is the #1 wealthiest person -- both being anyways astronomically rich at the end of the day. I didn't in fact even know he still had a role in Microsoft. My understanding was first Ballmer and then Nadella took over running the show years ago. So I don't think it's not even goi…

> Unless he actually cares if he or Bezos is the #1 wealthiest person

He could also care about whether his actions have a negative impact on others.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#103

Post by dcolkitt »

burkaman wrote: post #65
darawk wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because he's been managing large scale responses to infectious diseases via his foundation for a decade or so now.

But he came into that position because he's rich, not because of any particular expertise, and he's been able to accomplish more than others for that same reason. He's done a lot of good, but there is not really any oversight into what his foundation does and no reason to believe he's doing the best possible job. He's just pouring a ton of money into a lot of very hard problems. If I had to pick someone, I would prob…

> But he came into that position because he's rich, not because of any particular expertise

Except Gates is rich precisely because of expertise and talent. Without a doubt he's one of the best managers alive. Doubly so when those organizations are operating in complex, technically challenging, domains like software or epidemology.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#104

Post by hhjinks »

burkaman wrote: post #65
darawk wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because he's been managing large scale responses to infectious diseases via his foundation for a decade or so now.

But he came into that position because he's rich, not because of any particular expertise, and he's been able to accomplish more than others for that same reason. He's done a lot of good, but there is not really any oversight into what his foundation does and no reason to believe he's doing the best possible job. He's just pouring a ton of money into a lot of very hard problems. If I had to pick someone, I would prob…

He has ten years of experience. Not many others can point to that.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#105

Post by vikramkr »

scarejunba wrote: post #93
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Somewhat diverse by race and gender. Completely non-diverse in terms of socioeconomic status, which may have been jayzalowitz's point. (Or may not. Maybe there wasn't a point except some drive-by snark. It's hard to tell with a post like that.)

There's 12 people. To be honest, you can always construct a set of characteristics that are under-represented in such a group. Go ahead and pick 12 people and I'll pick the characteristics that aren't represented in proportion.

It would be unexpected for them to be perfectly represented. Even with large external pressures to be representative any variation means you get the most average person paradox where having a board perfectly representative is less likely than having nonrepresentative characteristics

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#106

Post by smallstepforman »

dragonwriter wrote: post #92
lukevdp wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is anyone actually advocating for diversity of socioeconomic status on boards? Board members need to be highly skilled and experienced in business, which I would guess correlates very well with wealth.

> Is anyone actually advocating for diversity of socioeconomic status on boards? Yes.

Place your quota of women, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, LBGT minorities, disabilities and the rest and you end up with a board where the best potential candidates based on skill are excluded.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#107

Post by dragonwriter »

smallstepforman wrote: post #106
dragonwriter wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is anyone actually advocating for diversity of socioeconomic status on boards? Yes.

Place your quota of women, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, LBGT minorities, disabilities and the rest and you end up with a board where the best potential candidates based on skill are excluded.

Skill directed in a manner hostile to one's interest is a harm, not a benefit, so arguing that representing interests that the current elite is hostile to on boards would limit their skill isn't really a negative for the purpose for which the diversity push is made.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#108

Post by freepor »

sytelus wrote: post #44
daxfohl wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kind of odd, being an employee there, I've never heard of eleven of the twelve board members before.

Most of the board members seem to be partners at various investment firms. Many of them don't seem to even remotely tech people. It's kind of sad that the Microsoft board lacks any external visionaries.

Board members aren't there to invent the next iPhone, they're there to determine when the CEO should be fired, and to hire a new CEO when necessary. Right now, the Microsoft board is particularly pointless since Satya Nadella is one of the highest-performing CEOs in the world and isn't close to retirement.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#109

Post by scarejunba »

gbronner wrote: post #99
scarejunba wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure Bill Gates is worshipped for more than his wealth. Growing up, he was the stereotypical wunderkind and people would say about smart kids "going to be the next Bill Gates". Come on, I was there to type in Microserf and M$ when Microsoft was fucking everyone with the SCO bullshit. That was infuriating, as was all the crap around FAT and NTFS. But you rarely find the combo of technologist and smart busin…

I attended a party at his house with a group of interns. He was worshipped, but in the wrong way -- a number of people wanted to touch his clothing or get his autograph, and they were employees . I don't think he was ever comfortable with that, and this allows him and his wife to work on interesting problems without causing political problems for MSFT.

Haha, my man, I have to admit that is pretty weird. I don't imagine anyone would like that. Haha, it's like the pope or something.

Re: Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft's board

#110

Post by dpe82 »

freepor wrote: post #108
sytelus wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the board members seem to be partners at various investment firms. Many of them don't seem to even remotely tech people. It's kind of sad that the Microsoft board lacks any external visionaries.

Board members aren't there to invent the next iPhone, they're there to determine when the CEO should be fired, and to hire a new CEO when necessary. Right now, the Microsoft board is particularly pointless since Satya Nadella is one of the highest-performing CEOs in the world and isn't close to retirement.

The board is meant to represent the investors and act as a check on the power of top executives so they don't go rogue and act contrary to the investors interests. Their job is certainly easier when the CEO is strong and things are going well, but it's still an important role.

Often the CFO (and sometimes other C-level officers) will also report directly to the board, or at least have a direct line of communication that the CEO isn't allowed to interfere with.

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