San Francisco: Microsoft on Friday announced that co-founder Bill Gates has left its board of directors and will be devoting his time to philanthropy.
Gates had stopped being involved in day-to-day operations at the firm and diverted his attention to the foundation he launched with his wife, Melinda.
“It’s been a tremendous honor and privilege to have worked with and learned from Bill over the years,” Microsoft chief executive and company veteran Satya Nadella said in a release.
“Bill founded our company with a belief in the democratizing force of software and a passion to solve society’s most pressing challenges; and Microsoft and the world are better for it, he said.
Gates left his CEO position in 2000 and handed over the position to Steve Ballmer to devote more time to his charitable foundation.
He gave up the role of chairman at the same time Nadella became Microsoft’s third CEO in 2014.
