News

Microsoft's Raikes To Retire

Jeff Raikes will leave Microsoft next September after 28 years with the company.

Jeff Raikes, one of Microsoft's top executives, will retire next year, the company said Thursday afternoon.

Raikes, who is president of the Microsoft Business Division -- aka the juggernaut behind Office -- joined Microsoft from Apple Computer in 1981. He, after chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer, is probably the company's most publicly prominent executive.

Stephen Elop, formerly COO of Juniper Networks, will take Raikes' spot after a nine-month transition.

Raikes will be officially gone as of September 2008, according to this company post.

This is huge news for Microsoft where Raikes was respected for running an organization that garnered a huge percentage of the company's profits. Office, unlike Windows, was known for shipping pretty much on time, even if it sacrificed features.

Raikes also extended the "Office" franchise beyond desktop productivity applications, adding the SharePoint portal and collaboration capabilities, content management and other heretofore server-oriented technologies to the mix.

When speculation as to Gates' successor flared up, there was a contingent at Microsoft who felt Raikes might be the guy. Instead, Steve Ballmer became CEO and Ray Ozzie succeeded Gates as chief software architect.

Just this week, Raikes presided over the news of Microsoft's billion-dollar-buyout of Fast Search & Transfer, a company that could bolster Microsoft's enterprise search talents.

He also drove the company's very public unified communications push.

About the Author

Barbara Darrow is Industry Editor for Redmond Developer News, Redmond magazine and Redmond Channel Partner. She has covered technology and business issues for 20 years.

Featured

  • Microsoft Offers Support Extensions for Exchange 2016 and 2019

    Microsoft has introduced a paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program for on-premises Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, offering a crucial safety cushion as both versions near their Oct. 14, 2025 end-of-support date.

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.

  • Notebook

    Microsoft Centers AI, Security and Partner Dogfooding at MCAPS

    Microsoft's second annual MCAPS for Partners event took place Tuesday, delivering a volley of updates and directives for its partners for fiscal 2026.

  • Microsoft Layoffs: AI Is the Obvious Elephant in the Room

    As Microsoft doubles down on an $80 billion bet on AI this fiscal year, its workforce reductions are drawing scrutiny over whether AI's ascent is quietly reshaping its human capital strategy, even as official messaging avoids drawing a direct line.