By Shira Ovide
Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer had barely sat down in his white leather armchair Wednesday night when he was asked about the company’s news of the week: the sudden departure of Steven Sinofsky, the controversial head of Microsoft’s Windows division.
“Steven has some things he wants to do in his life,” Mr. Ballmer said in a question-and-answer session sponsored by the Churchill Club. “We wish him well.”
It was Mr. Ballmer’s first public comments about Mr. Sinofsky since Monday night, when Microsoft announced the departure, effective immediately, of the 23-year Microsoft employee and the executive who shepherded the last two versions of the Windows operating software.
The management change raised questions about a crucial Microsoft product just weeks after the release of Windows 8, the new version designed to make Microsoft relevant in tablets as well as PCs. In Wednesday’s session, led by venture-capital investor Reid Hoffman, Mr. Ballmer proclaimed a “spectacular start” for Windows 8, and said without Mr. Sinofsky, “our new team is fantastic, maybe a little less well known.”
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