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William (Bill) H. Gates is chairman of Microsoft Corporation the worldwide leader in software services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Microsoft had revenues of US$39.79 billion for the fiscal year ending June 2005 and employs more than 61 000 people in 102 countries and regions.
On June 15 2006 Microsoft announced that effective July 2008 Gates will transition out of a day-to-day role in the company to spend more time on his global health and education work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. After July 2008 Gates will continue to serve as Microsoft’s chairman and an advisor on key development projects.
In his junior year Gates left Harvard University to devote his energies to Microsoft a company he had begun in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Guided by a belief that the computer would be a valuable tool on every office desktop and in every home they began developing software for personal computers. Gates' foresight and his vision for personal computing have been central to the success of Microsoft and the software industry.
Under Gates' leadership Microsoft's mission has been to continually advance and improve software technology and to make it easier more cost-effective and more enjoyable for people to use computers. The company is committed to a long-term view reflected in its investment of approximately $6.2 billion on research and development in the 2005 fiscal year. | 