Bill Gates surrendering Microsoft helm

A Harvard University dropout who ushered in the home computer age and made billions of dollars along the way will have his last official day of work at Microsoft on June 27.

Three people will essentially fill the void left behind when Bill Gates retires from the company he and friend Paul Allen co-founded in 1975.

Since Gate's began his transition from leading Microsoft to heading his personally-bankrolled charity, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation , his job as chief software architect has been handled by Ray Ozzie.

Craig Mundie inherited Gate's chief research and strategy officer duties, while former Harvard classmate Steve Ballmer became chief executive officer at the Seattle-based software colossus.

Gates left Harvard after two years to found the firm that became global powerhouse Microsoft. He later received honorary degrees from Harvard and other universities.

After retiring, Gates will remain chairman of the Microsoft board of directors and its largest shareholder.

"I don't think anything is going to drastically change the day he leaves," said Matt Rosoff of the private analyst firm Directions on Microsoft.

"If he thinks something is important and tells Steve Ballmer, Ballmer will listen to him."

Still, Gates's bespectacled nerdish visage is an integral part of Microsoft's image and his departure is symbolic, according to analysts.

"The challenge Microsoft has when the founder departs is remembering its heart," said analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.

"At some point the firm has to take the essence of what made Bill Gates successful and make sure that is preserved. Whether it is a company or a person, once you've lost your heart there isn't much left but a shell."

哈佛大学辍学学生比尔•盖茨开创了家庭电脑时代，成为亿万富翁。6月27日将是他在位于西雅图的软件巨头微软公司工作的最后一天。

盖茨和他的朋友保罗•艾伦于1975年合伙创建了微软公司，盖茨退休以后将会有三个人来填补他的职位空缺。

在盖茨开始将其重心由微软逐渐转向其个人出资创立的“比尔和梅琳达盖茨基金会”的时候，首席软件设计师的职位已经由雷•奥齐接替。

克雷格•蒙迪接手了盖茨首席研究师与战略决策官的职位，而盖茨的哈佛大学同窗斯蒂夫•鲍尔默则成为公司首席执行官。

盖茨在离开哈佛两年之后创建了后来全球领先的微软公司。后来，他获得了哈佛以及其他一些大学的荣誉学位。

退休以后，盖茨仍然会是微软的董事会主席及公司最大的股东。

来自微软独立分析公司“微软方向”的马特•罗瑟福说：“我认为他走那天不会有什么太大的变化。”

“如果他觉得某件事情很重要并且告诉了斯蒂夫•鲍尔默，鲍尔默会听从他的。”

不过，分析家们还是认为盖茨戴着眼镜的书呆子形象已是微软整体形象的一部分，而他的离开是有标志意义的。

硅谷恩德勒集团分析师罗伯•恩德勒说：“微软在其创建者离开后面临的挑战是要记住它的精神。”

“从某种程度上说，微软公司需要汲取盖茨成功的因素，还要确保它们继续发挥作用。不管是公司还是个人，一旦失掉灵魂，就只剩下一个空壳了。”