Shareholder calls for Microsoft’s Ballmer to go

A hedge fund manager with significant investment in Microsoft has called for the tech giant’s chief executive Steve Ballmer to step down.

David Einhorn, who’s Greenlight Capital currently holds about nine million shares in Microsoft, has suggested that Ballmer – who took Bill Gate’s previous position in 2000 – must "give someone else a chance" at the top of the corporation.

He made the claims – which Reuters has stated are the most pointed yet by a significant investor – speaking at the annual Ira Sohn Investment Research Conference in New York yesterday.

Einhorn said of Ballmer: "His continued presence is the biggest overhang on Microsoft’s stock".

While Microsoft remains a giant of the software and OS sector, it’s stock has stayed static for many years, relinquishing its market value lead to both Apple and, more recently, IBM.

As reported by Reuters, any investor who dedicated $100,000 to Microsoft stock a decade previously would today own approximately $69,000 worth.