Microsoft directors want Alan Mulally to shepherd the corporate through its restructuring while an insider is groomed for the CEO role, reports say.

Speaking Tuesday on the company’s annual shareholder meeting, Microsoft chairman and co-founder Bill Gates said he has met with “lots” of CEO candidates, but that the choice committee just isn’t rushed right into a decision. a brand new report published the identical day reiterated rumors that Ford CEO Alan Mulally is front runner for the job, nevertheless it added a twist: Microsoft directors want Mulally to shepherd the corporate for under two or three years, and then a Microsoft insider would take over.

If a two-step succession plan is within the cards, Gates maintained his poker face Tuesday. He confined his remarks to predictable topics resembling the complexity a better CEO will face and the progress the choice committee has already made. He also choked up, in a moment more characteristic of retiring CEO Steve Ballmer, as he said Microsoft is exclusive as it has had only two CEOs in its 38-year history.

But in keeping with AllThingsD, if the subsequent CEO is Mulally, his tenure may be much shorter than that of his predecessors. Citing unnamed sources, the web site said Microsoft wants Mulally to function a “caretaker” CEO while an internal successor is groomed.

If Microsoft followed this plan, candidates to eventually succeed Mulally could include COO Kevin Turner, executive vice chairman Tony Bates, and Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, who’s joining Microsoft as section of its acquisition of Nokia’s device business. However the report claimed Satya Nadella, who leads Microsoft’s enterprise and cloud businesses, is the leading internal candidate.

[How will Nokia’s device business benefit Microsoft? Read Microsoft-Nokia Deal On: What’s Next?]

Forrester analyst David Johnson told us Nadella may be a galvanizing leader. Johnson praised Nadella not just for leading Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise products to rapid growth, but additionally for his an lively and charismatic presence. “That is the form of leadership Microsoft needs — those who can energize.”

Ballmer recently revealed that he decided to retire upon realizing that, because he had instituted Microsoft’s current management culture, it’d take somebody else to supervise its restructuring. On Tuesday, in his final shareholder meeting as CEO, he said the corporate is positioned to make strides within the mobile and consumer markets. It has the assets to put “bold bets,” and the Xbox One, that allows you to be released Friday, is an example of its “devices and services” strategy, with numerous divisions’ efforts unified under a cohesive, common goal.

But the identity of Microsoft’s next CEO hangs over its prospects just up to the Xbox One. In keeping with a contemporary Bloomberg report, if Elop got the job, he’d consider selling off not just Microsoft’s Xbox business, but in addition Bing.

Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said Tuesday that the corporate hopes to announce a choice within the following couple of months, though some reports claim Microsoft board members would like to name a brand new CEO once next month. When Ballmer announced his retirement in August, he said he’d step down within a year.

If Mulally were to come back on in a caretaker role, it will support the view repeatedly affirmed by CEO selection committee head John Thompson that the following CEO will pursue Ballmer’s devices-and-services vision. The possibility is likewise interesting in that it is the second multistage succession rumor to pop up this month. The Chinese Windows Phone enthusiast site WPDang recently claimed (without citing sources) that Turner would preside as CEO for the following few years and can be replaced by Elop.

But if Mulally joined Microsoft for a brief-term run, one would need to wonder what will be in it for him. The role of Microsoft CEO is definitely one of the most prestigious and impactful in all of commercial, but Mulally has already been hailed as a savior at Ford, which is not a foul gig, either. If offered the job, “he’ll have two choices,” Johnson said. “He can lead Ford, a successful company, or he can do something he’s really expert at: redirect a company’s culture and remake its competitiveness out there.”

Having stabilized Ford, Mulally could be looking forward to a brand new challenge, if not for an extended-term job. Ballmer told The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) that Mulally helped him structure Microsoft’s reorganization plan, which only bolsters this possibility.

Overall, though, Microsoft’s CEO prospects ostensibly remain in flux. AllThingsD said that, while Mulally, Elop, Nadella, and others continue to generate buzz among Microsoft directors, it’s possible that a dismal-horse candidate could charge into the conversation. Some Microsoft insiders are holding out for candidates who reportedly include quite a lot of telecom leaders, in addition to former Microsoft execs who’ve moved to new ventures.

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