VITAL STATS

Age: 50

Education: Bachelor's degree in math and economics from Harvard University; dropped out of Stanford Business School.

Total compensation in 2006: $976,149

Value of Microsoft shares: Ballmer owns about 408.3 million shares (more than 4 percent of all shares outstanding), worth close to $12.4 billion. Although total revenues have almost doubled to $44.3 billion and profits have climbed by a third to $12.6 billion since Ballmer became CEO of Microsoft in January 2000, the stock price has fallen nearly 40 percent, to $30.49 per share on June 15, 2007, from $49.99 on Jan. 3, 2000.

On big opportunities: "The best of the web, the best of the PC, the best of the phone, best of the enterprise, really letting those things come together is almost remaking what software does and means and how it works. People who really use this stuff will think things just keep getting better, but for the people who build this stuff it is a really exciting time." (Technology Alliance keynote, Seattle, May 31, 2007)

On the challenges of taking over from Bill Gates: "A lot of great institutions have managed to routinize after charismatic leaders. I mean, China kind of went through this from Mao Zedong through to the present-day leadership. ... You can have great things happen after great leaders, but you've got to think about it and be explicit about it." (March 15, 2007 speech at Stanford University Graduate School of Business)

Biggest personal challenge? "Time. ... I have a detailed (35-row) spreadsheet. I allocate this amount of time to travel, this amount of time I'm home ... There is a nights-away budget that I kind of negotiate with myself, my kids and my wife every year. I work hard to be able to drop the kids off in the morning at school or the bus, and I'm home in time for dinner. My wife would say I'm home in time for dessert. ... I run in the morning because I need to or I gain weight. ... I play golf because I like to." (ibid., Stanford University)

On social networking: "There is going to be enabling software, so that anybody who wants to make [social networks] can do it. When all is said and done, we are going to have a lot more microcommunities than what you have with all these macrocommunities like MySpace or Facebook. What will the book club community look like? What will the retired person bird-watching community look like? While there will be big social communities, you will (also) see splintering and special interests." (ibid., Technology Alliance)

On unexpected challenges: "The biggest competitive challenge that any business faces is actually alternate business models. It is not a company. ... What was the number one different business model that our company has confronted in the last six years? It's Open Source. Open Source is not a technology phenomenon; it is a business model phenomenon. ... It's all about value and total cost of ownership. We are saying: Hey look, this is actually an area where we can take a lot of share with the right innovation, and the right total cost of ownership." (Financial Times, Jan. 30, 2007)

On Windows Mobile: "We sell now close to 20 million Windows Mobile devices a year, which is above the numbers you'd find for Palm or BlackBerry or some of the other guys. We've had particularly good success in the line of business enterprise applications. It's been a real focal area for us." (ibid., Software 2007)

On Microsoft's strengths: "We're persistent. Sometimes we get it right from the get-go.