Ann McLaughlin Korologos, a member of Microsoft's board of directors since Jan. 2000, will not seek reelection at the company's Nov. 2006 shareholders' meeting. This leaves nine members, seven of whom are not employees—enough outsiders to fill all board committees and for the board to maintain a reasonable degree of independence. The company has not said whether it will seek a replacement, but it has generally replaced resigning board members within a year.

Korologos's decision was prompted by "increasing demands on her time from other professional and personal commitments," according to Microsoft. She is the chairman of the board of trustees for the Rand Corporation, a think tank, and chairman emeritus of the Aspen Institute, a nonprofit educational institution that conducts seminars and conferences on public policy issues. She also served as the U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Ronald Reagan from 1987 to 1989.

On the Microsoft board, Korologos has served as the chair of the Compensation Committee and sat on the Audit and Finance Committees.

The remaining board members are Chairman Bill Gates, CEO Steve Ballmer, former Harvard Business School professor James Cash, Jr., former JP Morgan Chief Financial Officer Dina Dublon, former Merck CEO Raymond Gilmartin, venture capitalist James Marquardt, former AT&T Vice Chairman Charles Noski, former BMW Chairman Helmut Panke, and former Microsoft Chief Operating Officer and President Jon Shirley.

Microsoft's board of directors is detailed at www.microsoft.com/presspass/bod/default.mspx.

Board committees are detailed in the chart "Board Committees" on page 30 of the Dec. 2003 Update.