Microsoft's Raikes bids goodbye to the Company

Following in Microsoft’s Chairman and co-founder Bill Gates’s footsteps, Jeff Raikes, a 26-year veteran of the company and President of Microsoft Business Division (MBD) is set to say goodbye to the company.

The world’s largest software company unveiled Thursday that Raikes would retire from the company, effective September 2008. Raikes will be replaced by Stephen Elop, the former chief operating officer of Juniper Networks Inc., Microsoft said.

"I've had an incredible journey here at Microsoft," Raikes said in a statement. "Given the success of our business and the depth of leadership we have in place, the time is right to leave the business in the capable hands of our new generation of leaders."

During the remaining nine-month period in Microsoft, Raikes will ensure a flawless transition of responsibilities and management of the division. He will remain as a member of the company's senior leadership team, which includes Steve Ballmer and Gates, until his departure.

Elop, 44, will join Microsoft at the end of January and will work together with Raikes during the nine-month transition. He will eventually assume responsibility for the information worker, Microsoft business solutions and unified communications businesses, which all were previously led by Raikes.

Raikes’ departure news comes days after Microsoft announced the retirement of Bruce Jaffe, who oversees Microsoft's merger and acquisitions strategy. On Wednesday, the Redmond giant announced that Jaffe will be leaving the company at the end of February.

Raikes’ departure also follows Microsoft chief Bill Gates’ decision to step down from his day-to-day role as Microsoft's chief software architect. In June 2006, Gates had announced that he will transition out of active role at the company, effective July 2008, to spend more time working on his charitable foundation.

Gates has decided to work part-time at Microsoft as chairman and technical adviser and will work full time for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the charitable organization he founded with his wife in 2000 to support research into the prevention of malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS as well as measures against hunger and poverty.

Raikes, 49, joined Microsoft in 1981 as a product manager. Before joining Microsoft, he was a software development manager at Apple Computer Inc. He was instrumental in including various business productivity offerings such as the Microsoft Office system, Microsoft Dynamics and Microsoft Exchange Server into the Microsoft Business Division.

“There is no overstating the incredible impact Jeff has had during his amazing career at Microsoft. Leading our business division, Jeff and his team have delivered terrific results while reshaping and expanding the portfolio of our business-related products and services to ensure a very healthy future for our customers, partners and Microsoft," said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft.

Before assuming his current position in September 2005, Raikes was group vice president of the Information Worker Business, which was responsible for the Microsoft Office system of programs, servers, and software-based services.