After more than a decade of working in Microsoft, Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer would exit the software maker. His retirement from Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, made him an individual shareholder of the Washington-based company,

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Indexes, Steve Ballmer has a total networth of USD16.8 billion. He said that he would step down from his Microsoft post within 12 months. This was after he struggled to keep the pace up with the company's shift from PC to mobile devices.   

In an interview by phone, Chicago-based BMO Private Bank Chief Investment Officer Jack Ablin said "Investors want new leadership to navigate the company in a world that doesn't rely on the PC anymore". "In a big picture sense, he's done a good job," he added.

Steve Ballmer's position would be replaced by a candidate chosen through a committee supervised by John Thompson, BMO's independent director. The short listing of candidates would be done with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.