Steve Ballmer

Updated: March 1, 2008

Steven A. Ballmer is Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Corporation, the world's leading manufacturer of software for personal and business computing. Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 and was the first business manager hired by Bill Gates. Since then, Ballmer's leadership and passion have become hallmarks of his tenure at the company.

Ballmer and the company's business and technical leaders are focused on continuing Microsoft's innovation and leadership across the company's core businesses. Microsoft's goal is to provide an integrated platform to enable a seamless experience across a wide range of computing and non-PC devices and services.

Variously described as ebullient, focused, funny, passionate, sincere, hard-charging and dynamic, Ballmer has infused Microsoft with his own brand of energetic leadership, vision and spirit over the years.

Ballmer was born in March 1956, and grew up near Detroit, where his father worked as a manager at Ford Motor Co. He graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics. While in college, Ballmer managed the football team, worked on the Harvard Crimson newspaper as well as the university literary magazine, and lived down the hall from fellow sophomore Bill Gates. After college, he worked for two years at Procter & Gamble Co. as an assistant product manager and, before joining Microsoft, attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

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Speech Archive

2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999-97

2009

• Vision Forum Keynote, Taipei, Taiwan  
  Nov. 4, 2009
• Executives' Luncheon, Seoul, South Korea  
  Nov. 2, 2009
• Windows 7 Launch Transcript | PowerPoint Presentation (1.7MB)  
  Oct. 22, 2009
• Microsoft SharePoint Conference 2009 Transcript| PowerPoint Presentation (2.1MB)  
  Oct. 19, 2009
• Chief Executives' Club of Boston  
  Oct. 16, 2009
• Paris Press Conference  
  Oct. 6, 2009
• CBI - 2009 Annual Lecture: 'Thriving and Surviving'  
  Oct. 5, 2009
• Air Force Information Technology Conference  
  Aug. 26, 2009
• Microsoft-Yahoo! Search Agreement  
  July 29, 2009
• Worldwide Partner Conference 2009 Transcript | PowerPoint Presentation (2.24 mb)  
  July 14, 2009
• Cannes Lion International Advertising Festival 2009 Transcript | PowerPoint Presentation (9.38 mb)  
  June 24, 2009
• North Carolina Technology Association  
  June 19, 2009
• The Executive Club  
  June 18, 2009
• Detroit Economic Club  
  June 17, 2009
• Dallas Regional Chamber  
  May 7, 2009
• Stanford University  
  May 6, 2009
• Mobile World Congress 2009 Keynote  
  Feb. 17, 2009
• Mobile World Congress 2009  
  Feb. 16, 2009
• U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Caucus Retreat  
  Feb. 6, 2009
• International CES 2009  
  Jan. 7, 2009

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2008

• User Conference for Microsoft Services  
  Nov. 5, 2008
• Tech-Ed Brazil  
  Oct. 14, 2008
• Microsoft Advertising Day  
  Oct. 12, 2008
• Charted Accountant Conference  
  Oct. 2, 2008
• Information Technology Decision Maker / Dev Event  
  Oct. 2, 2008
• Online Marketing Event  
  Oct. 2, 2008
• CIGREF  
  Oct. 2, 2008
• European Search Technology Center Press Conference  
  Oct. 2, 2008
• Stanford Graduate School of Business  
  Sept. 25, 2008
• The Churchill Club  
  Sept. 25, 2008
• Microsoft Venture Capitalist Summit 2008  
  Sept. 25, 2008
• Financial Analyst Meeting 2008: Executive Discussion  
  July 24, 2008
• Financial Analyst Meeting 2008  
  July 24, 2008
• Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2008  
  July 9, 2008
• Windows Server 2008 Launch Event, Hungary  
  May 19, 2008
• Prepared Remarks, ICT Best Practices Forum  
  April 21, 2008
• Microsoft 2008 MVP Summit  
  April 17, 2008
• Convergence 2008 Keynote  
  March 12, 2008
• MIX08  
  March 6, 2008
• CeBIT 2008  
  March 3, 2008
• Heroes Happen Here Launch Keynote  
  Feb. 27, 2008
• Student Minority Day BAM 2008  
  Feb. 8, 2008

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2007

• Microsoft Office Project Conference, Seattle, Wash.  
  Oct. 30, 2007
• CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2007, San Francisco, Calif.  
  Oct. 23, 2007
• Web 2.0, San Francisco, Calif.  
  Oct. 18, 2007
• ANA Annual Conference, Phoenix, Ariz.  
  Oct. 12, 2007
• Microsoft and Cisco: Collaborating for the Future of Technology, New York, N.Y.  
  Aug. 20, 2007
• Worldwide Partner Conference 2007, Denver, Colorado  
  July 10, 2007
• Software 2007, Santa Clara, Calif.  
  May 9, 2007
• Microsoft Dynamics Partner Day, Aalsmeer, Netherlands  
  April 23, 2007
• Microsoft Security & Management Seminar, Amsterdam, The Netherlands  
  April 23, 2007
• Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Stanford, Calif.  
  March 15, 2007
• Convergence 2007, San Diego, Calif.  
  March 14, 2007
• Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana  
  Feb. 26, 2007
• Strategic Update for Investors  
  Feb. 15, 2007
• "Blacks at Microsoft" Minority Student Day, Redmond, Wash.  
  Feb. 2, 2007
• Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office System Worldwide Availability Celebration, New York, N.Y.  
  Jan. 29, 2007
• Partner Luncheon and Press Conference, Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 Worldwide Availability, New York, N.Y.  
  Jan. 29, 2007
• Microsoft-Nortel News Conference, New York, N.Y.  
  Jan. 17, 2007
• New York Business Value Launch, New York, N.Y.  
  Jan. 16, 2007
• National Retail Federation Annual Convention & EXPO, New York, N.Y.  
  Jan. 15, 2007

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2006

• "A New Day for Business" Launch Event, New York, New York  
  Nov. 30, 2006
• Japan Partner Conference, Tokyo, Japan  
  Nov. 6, 2006
• Microsoft and Novell Collaboration Announcement, San Francisco, California  
  Nov. 2, 2006
• American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, Cairo, Egypt  
  Oct. 19, 2006
• Gartner Symposium/IT Expo 2006, Orlando, Florida  
  Oct. 10, 2006
• Financial Analyst Meeting 2006, Redmond, Washington  
  July 27, 2006
• Worldwide Partner Conference 2006, Boston, Massachusetts  
  July 11, 2006
• New Era of Technical Leadership for Microsoft - Press Conference, Redmond, Washington  
  June 15, 2006
• Commonwealth Club/Churchill Club, Santa Clara, California  
  May 11, 2006
• MSN Strategic Account Summit, Redmond, Washington  
  May 4, 2006
• World Congress on IT, Austin, Texas  
  May 3, 2006
• Western Washington University Business Forum, Seattle, Washington  
  April 18, 2006
• The People-Ready Business, New York, New York  
  March 16, 2006
• 3GSM World Congress, Barcelona, Spain  
  Feb. 14, 2006
• Steve Ballmer Keynote: Microsoft Office "12" Project and Visio Conference, Seattle, Washington  
  Jan. 19, 2006

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2005

• Washington, D.C.-Area Customers, Washington, D.C.  
  Dec. 7, 2005
• CAN>WIN 2005, Ottawa, Canada  
  Dec. 6, 2005
• Ottawa, Canada - International Technology Association of Canada, Ottawa Center for Research & Innovation, Ottawa, Canada  
  Dec. 6, 2005
• Microsoft Annual Shareholder Meeting, Bellevue, Wash.  
  Nov. 9, 2005
• Worldwide Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005 and BizTalk Server 2006 Launch, San Francisco, Calif.  
  Nov. 7, 2005
• Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2005, Orlando, Fla.  
  Oct. 19, 2005
• Microsoft Business Summit, Redmond, Wash.  
  Sept. 7, 2005
• Financial Analyst Meeting 2005, Redmond, Wash.  
  July 28, 2005
• Worldwide Partner Conference 2005, Minneapolis, Minn.  
  July 10, 2005
• Microsoft Tech·Ed 2005, Orlando, Fla.  
  June 6, 2005
• Microsoft Corporation and Sun Microsystems Inc. Press Conference, Palo Alto, Calif.  
  May 13, 2005
• Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.  
  May 12, 2005
• Microsoft Government Leaders Forum, Dubai, United Arab Emirates  
  April 25, 2005
• Microsoft Management Summit 2005, Las Vegas, Nev.  
  April 20, 2005
• MSN Strategic Account Summit, Redmond, Wash.  
  March 16, 2005
• AACIS Unlimited Potential Grant Announcement, San Antonio, Tex.  
  Feb. 17, 2005
• Cambridge Energy Research Association Week, Houston, Tex.  
  Feb. 16, 2005
• Blacks at Microsoft Minority Student Day, Redmond, Wash.  
  Feb. 11, 2005

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2004

• Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.  
  Dec. 1, 2004
• Executives' Club of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.  
  Nov. 30, 2004
• Government Leaders Forum 2004, Singapore  
  Nov. 18, 2004
• Gartner Symposium and ITxpo 2004, Orlando, Fl.  
  Oct. 20, 2004
• Washington Software Alliance 20th Anniversary, Seattle, Wash.  
  Sept. 22, 2004
• Massachusetts Software Council, Boston, Mass.  
  Sept. 1, 2004
• 2004 Financial Analyst Meeting, Redmond, Wash.  
  July 29, 2004
• Teleconference Regarding New Microsoft Dividend and Stock Buyback Plans, Redmond, Wash.  
  July 20, 2004
• Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2004, Toronto, Canada  
  July 13, 2004
• Microsoft/Fujitsu Announcement, Tokyo  
  June 28, 2004
• Microsoft Tech·Ed 2004, San Diego, Calif.  
  May 24, 2004
• Microsoft Government Leaders Forum - Americas 2004, Redmond, Wash.  
  May 17, 2004
• Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C.  
  April 7, 2004

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2003

• Business Week Captains of Industry Series, New York  
  Nov. 13, 2003
• Microsoft Office System Launch, Orlando, Florida  
  Oct. 21, 2003
• Gartner Symposium 2003, Orlando, Florida  
  Oct. 21, 2003
• Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2003, New Orleans, Louisiana  
  Oct. 9, 2003
• Microsoft Government Leaders Forum (Europe), Rome, Italy  
  Sept. 17, 2003
• Churchill Club, Santa Clara, Calif.  
  Sept. 15, 2003
• News Conference Concerning Employee Compensation Changes, Redmond, Wash.  
  July 8, 2003
• EMC Technology Summit, Las Vegas, Nevada  
  April 28, 2003
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Launch, San Francisco, California  
  April 24, 2003
• Microsoft Executive Automotive Summit, Detroit, Michigan  
  March 26, 2003

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2002

• Steve Ballmer at Brookings Institution, Washington D.C.  
  Nov. 12, 2002
• 2002 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Bellevue, Washington  
  Nov. 5, 2002
• Gartner IT Expo, Orlando, Florida  
  Oct. 9, 2002
• NPower Detroit, Detroit, Michigan  
  Aug. 29, 2002
• .NET Briefing Day, Redmond, Washington  
  July 24, 2002
• Fusion 2002, Los Angeles, California  
  July 15, 2002
• Blacks in Technology Summit, New York, New York  
  May 11, 2002
• Enterprise Solutions Conference For Latin America, Boca Raton, Florida  
  April 25, 2002
• American Association of Community Colleges, Seattle, Washington  
  April 22, 2002
• Government Leaders' Conference 2002, Seattle, Washington  
  April 16, 2002
• CeBIT 2002 Press Conference, Hannover, Germany  
  March 13, 2002
• CeBIT 2002, Hannover, Germany  
  March 12, 2002
• Visual Studio .NET Launch, Chicago, Illinois  
  Feb. 13, 2002
• Connected Learning Community Technology Summit  
  Feb. 11, 2002

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2001

• Fall COMDEX 2001, Redmond, Wash.  
  Nov. 12, 2001
• Gartner Group Symposium/ITxpo, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.  
  Oct. 10, 2001
• Pocket PC 2002 Launch, San Francisco, Calif.  
  Oct. 4, 2001
• North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, Charlotte, North Carolina  
  July 11, 2001
• InfoWorld CTO Summit, San Francisco, Calif.  
  June 21, 2001
• Can Win, Toronto  
  May 1, 2001
• Enterprise Solutions Conference, Miami, Fla.  
  April 17, 2001
• Government Leaders Conference, Seattle, Wash.  
  March 28, 2001
• CTIA Wireless 2001, Las Vegas, Nevada  
  March 20, 2001
• ACM1, San Jose, Calif.  
  March 12, 2001
• DevCon 2001, Las Vegas  
  February 6, 2001

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2000

• Streaming Media West 2000, San Jose, California  
  Dec. 12, 2000
• Enterprise .Net Launch, San Francisco, California  
  Sept. 26, 2000
• Forum 2000, Redmond, Washington  
  June 22, 2000
• Pocket PC Launch, New York  
  April 19, 2000
• George Washington University, Washington, DC  
  April 19, 2000
• PC Forum, Scottsdale, Arizona  
  March 14, 2000
• The Commonwealth Club of California, San Francisco, California  
  Feb. 15, 2000
• Comdex Canada, Toronto, Ontario  
  July 12, 2000
• Fusion 2000, Atlanta  
  July 14, 2000
• Financial Services Summit New York  
  April 19, 2000
• FOSE, Washington, DC  
  April 18, 2000
• VBITS, San Francisco, California  
  Feb. 16, 2000

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1999-97

• Windows 2000 Press Briefing, Las Vegas, NV  
  November 15, 1999
• CarPoint Announcement, San Francisco, CA  
  September 20, 1999
• Washington Software Alliance, Seattle  
  June 11, 1999
• Supercomm '99, Atlanta, Ga.  
  June 8, 1999
• TIBCO Strategic Directions Conference, Palo Alto, Calif.  
  May 13, 1999
• Networld + Interop 98, Atlanta, Ga.  
  October 22, 1998
• Address at BizApps 98, Las Vegas, Nev.  
  September 9, 1998
• GigaWorld '98, Phoenix, Ariz.  
  June 2, 1998
• Fusion '98, New Orleans, La.  
  May 31, 1998
• Digital Nervous System Seminar, Stockholm, Sweden  
  November 7, 1997
• World PC Forum, Chiba, Japan  
  September 24, 1997
• Project 2000 Announcement, Las Vegas, NV  
  November 15, 1999
• "Developing Web Applications" Press Briefing, San Francisco, CA  
  September 13, 1999
• Paine Webber Growth and Technology Conference, New York  
  June 8, 1999
• Office 2000 Launch, San Francisco, Calif.  
  June 7, 1999
• WinHEC '99, Los Angeles  
  April 7, 1999
• Launch of Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 at Comdex/Fall '98, Las Vegas, Nev.  
  November 16, 1998
• Microsoft/Compaq Financial Summit, New York  
  October 20, 1998
• Keynote at Seybold 98  
  September 2, 1998
• Retail '98, New Orleans, La.  
  June 15, 1998
• Tech-ed '98, New Orleans, La.  
  June 1, 1998
• Empowerment 2001, Seattle, Wash.  
  February 10, 1998
• Church Hill Club, San Francisco, Calif.  
  October 9, 1997
• The Microsoft Analyst Summit 97, Seattle, Wash.  
  July 24, 1997
• PC EXPO '97, New York, N.Y.  
  June 18, 1997

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Headshots | 2009 Events | 2007 Events | 2006 Events | 2005 Events

Headshots

72 dpi jpg (27 kb) 300 dpi tif (9.2 mb)

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72 dpi jpg (29 kb) 300 dpi tif (9.2 mb)

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2009 Event Photos

WORLDWIDE PARTNER CONFERENCE - Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft, discusses the vital role Microsoft's partners play in delivering valuable business solutions to customers at the Worldwide Partner Conference, New Orleans, La., July 14, 2009. High-res version	BING - Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft, discusses the vital role Microsoft's partners play in delivering valuable business solutions to customers at the Worldwide Partner Conference, New Orleans, La, July 14, 2009. High-res version
CEO SUMMIT - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer closes Day 2 of the Microsoft CEO Summit in Redmond, Wash., with a discussion on the economy, technology and innovation, May 20, 2009. High-res version	FORD FUSION - Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer for Microsoft, is shown a new Ford Fusion by Alan Mulally, chief executive officer for Ford, as Mulally presents the Microsoft Sync-equipped car to Ballmer on the Redmond, Wash. campus of Microsoft, May 26, 2009. High-res version

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2007 Event Photos

MINORITY-STUDENT DAY - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer addresses youths participating in Microsoft Minority Student Day. Redmond, Wash., Feb. 2, 2007. High-res version Read more

ALL BUSINESS AT STANFORD - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (left) takes questions from business students at Stanford University. Right: Robert Joss, dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Stanford, California, March 15, 2007. High-res version Read more

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2006 Event Photos

CES 2006 - Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates (left) and CEO Steve Ballmer (right) play the Xbox 360 Fight Night, Round 3 video game with boxing announcer Al Bernstein (center). Las Vegas, Jan. 4, 2006. High-res version Read more	PEOPLE-READY BUSINESS - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer shares Microsoft's vision for the “People-Ready” business with 500 executives and journalists. New York, March 16, 2006. High-res version Read more
STRATEGIC ACCOUNT SUMMIT - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announces Microsoft adCenter, the company's online advertising platform. Redmond, Wash., May 4, 2006. High-res version Read more	LEADERSHIP TRANSITION - (L-R): Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (left) and Chairman Bill Gates discuss Microsoft's senior-leadership transition plans. Redmond, Wash., June 15, 2006. High-res version Read more
MICROSOFT, NOVELL COLLABORATE - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer discusses plans for collaboration on new solutions to make Novell and Microsoft products work better together. San Francisco, Nov. 2, 2006. High-res version Read more	SHAREHOLDER GATHERING - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer outlines Microsoft's forthcoming wave of products and services at the company's annual shareholder meeting. Bellevue, Wash., Nov. 14, 2006. High-res version Read more
SHAREHOLDERS MEET - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (right) and Chairman Bill Gates (left) at the company's annual shareholder meeting. Bellevue, Wash., Nov. 14, 2006. High-res version Read more	NEW DAY FOR BUSINESS - Microsoft CFO Christopher Liddell (left) and CEO Steve Ballmer (center) ring the NASDAQ opening bell with NASDAQ President and CEO Robert Greifeld (right) to celebrate the business availability of Windows Vista, the 2007 Microsoft Office system and Exchange Server 2007. New York, NY, Nov. 30, 2006. High-res version Read more

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2005 Event Photos

STUDENT HONORS - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (right) and Senior Director of Finance CT Tomlin (left) honor Yusuf Beshir of Seattle for his first-place essay at Blacks at Microsoft Minority Student Day. Redmond, Wash., Feb. 11, 2005. High-res version Read more	TECH·ED 2005 - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiling the ThinkPad X41 Tablet, a powerful business PC from Lenovo. Orlando, Fla., June 6, 2005. High-res version Read more
SHAREHOLDERS ADDRESSED - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer outlines plans for investment in continued innovation at the company's annual shareholder meeting. Bellevue, Wash., Nov. 9, 2005. High-res version Read more

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Essays

2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997

2008 Essays

• Promoting Technology Adoption - and Prosperity - Through Public-Private Partnerships
  Wall Street Journal Asia, May 8, 2008

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