Microsoft in major corporate reshuffle as Steve Ballmer announces retirement Microsoft has announced that its chief executive Steve Ballmer will be stepping down in 12 months time as part of a major corporate reshuffle. The world's biggest software company is yet to name a successor to Ballmer, who replaced founder Bill Gates as the company's CEO in 2000. The company has created a special committee to find Ballmer's replacement, on which Mr Gates has a seat. Microsoft shares leapt in value by 8 per cent after trading opened on Wall Street. Mr Ballmer, who is currently working to transform the group into a "devices and services" company, said: "There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time. "We need a chief executive who will be here longer-term for this new direction," he continued. He will remain with the group until a successor is hired. Mr Ballmer, 57, met Gates at Harvard University in 1973 and joined Microsoft in 1980, five years after it was founded. Following the announcement Mr Gates said, "As a member of the succession planning committee, I'll work closely with the other members of the board to identify a great new chief executive. We're fortunate to have Steve in his role until the new chief executive assumes these duties. Although the group has been criticised recently, Microsoft has more than tripled revenue and doubled profits under Mr Ballmer's leadership. Mr Ballmer was Microsoft's first ever business manager and has since held roles at the group including senior vice president of sales and support, senior vice president of systems software and vice president of marketing. During his time with the company it has grown from having 30 employees to more than 100,000. Last month Microsoft unveiled a plan to make the company more efficient and to respond more quickly to changes in the market. This was partly done to address concerns that it has not moved fast enough into mobile devices - an area dominated by the likes of Apple and Google. In an email sent to employees on 11 July Ballmer wrote, "Going forward, our strategy will focus on creating a family of devices and services for individuals and businesses that empower people around the globe at home, at work and on the go, for the activities they value most." In practice this means that Microsoft will halve the number of product divisions it operates from eight to four, with each given a broader remit. Microsoft has said that the special committee will work with US headhunting firm Heidrick & Struggles International and will consider both external and internal candidates. Born in 1956, Mr Ballmer grew up near Detroit, Michigan, where his father worked as a manager at car manufacturer Ford. Having graduated from Harvard with a degree in mathematics and economics, he worked for two years at Procter & Gamble as an assistant product manager and attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business before joining Microsoft.