微软新任董事长大起底

    比如2005年，汤普森斥资100亿美元收购数据存储企业维尔软件公司（Veritas Software）后来就证明是一大败笔。与此同时，在卸任前的那几年间，他还得不断与由于经济不景气和竞争加剧造成的增长放缓作斗争。

    微软和赛门铁克由汤普森着手再造时的情况类似，现在也很需要进行业务聚焦。Windows软件、Xbox游戏机、Surface平板、云计算以及必应（Bing）搜索引擎全都在争抢关注度和资源。一些业务部门可能需要关停，剥离到独立公司，甚至干脆卖掉。要做出决定，重点发展哪些业务，剥离哪些业务，既需要老到的策略，也需要预判未来的本事。

    投资公司Menlo Ventures的投资人文奇•加纳森说：“微软的策略十分分散，它想努力涉足所有业务领域——但却没有哪方面出类拔萃。他们需要脱颖而出，力争卓越。”

    汤普森是科技行业少有的几位非裔美国人之一，他在南佛罗里达长大，父母是教师和邮政员工。当年他曾获得奖学金进入密苏里州的一个大学乐队吹奏黑管，之后转到佛罗里达农工大学（Florida A&M）学商科。在业内，他是一位沉着镇定、技巧娴熟的知名销售。而在工作之外，他是一位劲头十足的猎手，还对美酒情有独钟。

    2012年，就在微软开始面临重组高管层的压力之际，它将汤普森任命为董事。之后他就开始担纲一项使命——寻找史蒂夫•鲍尔默的接班人。鲍尔默是长期领导微软的统帅，但多年来始终没能让微软的股价摆脱低迷，因此难免被客气地请下台去。分析师们普遍对微软最终选择了纳德拉表示赞赏。不过很多人也对汤普森将这个选帅进程拖了近六个月之久颇有微词。这段时间不断走漏出各种小道消息，同时有好几位候选人公开表示不会参与角逐。

    经纪公司BGC Partners的分析师科林•吉利斯说：“可能对这么高规格的猎头行动来说，这也很自然，但我不认为这是一种很上档次的做法。”

    而汤普森本人一直对自己作为董事长将如何作为没怎么表过态。在上周二发布的关于这个职务任命的简短视频中，他做了一个含糊的承诺，表示要“与股东同心协力，继续致力于通过共同努力，为市场带来伟大的创新，同时推动股东利益实现长期强劲增值。”

    去年在接受电视采访时，汤普森曾表示董事会的职责更多地不是制定公司战略，而是对它进行监督。汤普森说：“战略是否正确，更重要的是，团队是否很好地执行了这一战略？”在微软，这一战略的一部分就是要继续开展公司重组，这是董事会去年就已经批准的。它还包括一旦对芬兰手机厂商诺基亚（Nokia）斥资72亿美元的收购交易完成后，如何对它与微软进行整合。

    投资人甘尼森表示，对汤普森来说，最明智的做法就是让纳德拉不要受到董事会的干扰。他说：“他需要确保萨提亚不被过去所束缚，而是能放眼未来。他应该对他说，‘看，你现在有充分的空间和时间来思考各种问题，做出那些艰难的决策了’。”（财富中文网）

    译者：清远

    Thompson's $10 billion acquisition of Veritas Software, a data storage firm, in 2005 turned out to be dud, for example. Meanwhile, in the years before resigning, he struggled with slowing growth caused by the economic downturn and intense competition.

    Like Symantec, when Thompson started, Microsoft (MSFT) is now in need of focus. Windows software, Xbox video game consoles, Surface tablets, cloud computing and the Bing search engine all compete for attention and resources. Some units may be shut down, spun out into separate companies or sold off. Deciding which ones to nurture and which to unload requires diplomacy and a knack for predicting the future.

    "Microsoft had a very scattered approach of trying to be everything to everybody -- but nothing great," said Venky Ganesan, a venture capitalist with Menlo Ventures. "They need to come out and try to be great."

    Thompson, one of the few African-Americans executives in the technology industry, grew up in South Florida as the son of a teacher and postal worker. He received a scholarship to play clarinet in a college band in Missouri before he transferred to Florida A&M to study business. He's known as unflappable and a skilled salesman. In his private life, he's an avid hunter and wine aficionado.

    In 2012, Microsoft appointed Thompson to its board just at the time the pressure for an executive shakeup started rising. He led the search to replace Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's longtime leader who was eased out following years of stagnant stock performance. Analysts generally praised the choice of Nadella. But many criticized Thompson for dragging out the process for nearly six months, a period marked by repeated leaks and several candidates publically withdrawing their names from consideration.

    "Perhaps that's natural for any high-profile search as this, but I wouldn't say it was a majestic effort," said Colin Gillis, an analyst for BGC Partners.

    Thompson has been largely quiet about what exactly he'll do as chairman. In a brief video clip released on Tuesday to mark his appointment, he made a vague promise to "engage with shareholders and keep focused on how together we can bring great innovation to the market and drive strong long-term shareholder value."

    In video interview last year, Thompson described the board's role as not so much setting the company's strategy, but rather monitoring it. "Is the strategy right, and more importantly, is the team executing well against that strategy?" Thompson said.

    At Microsoft, part of that strategy is to continue with a corporate reorganization that the board approved last year. It also involves integrating the $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia, the Swedish phone maker, once that deal is finalized.

    Ganesen, the venture capitalist, said that wisest thing for Thompson would be to give Nadella freedom from interference by the board. "He needs to make sure Satya isn't a prisoner of the past but rather a seer of the future," Ganesen said. "He should tell him, 'Look, you have the space and time now to think about the problems and make the hard decisions.'"