Jon Shirley to Leave Board

Former Chief Operating Officer Jon Shirley will not seek reelection to Microsoft’s board of directors at the company’s next shareholders’ meeting in Nov. 2008. Shirley has served as a director since joining Microsoft in 1983, longer than any other board member except Chairman Bill Gates and venture capitalist David Marquardt, both of whom were founding board members in 1981. Shirley currently serves as the chairman of the board’s Finance Committee, which provides guidance to the board on financial issues such as dividend payouts and mergers and acquisitions. He is retiring at the age of 70 to spend more time pursuing personal interests.

When hired, Shirley had considerably more experience than other members of Microsoft’s early executive leadership team—he is 18 years older than Gates, and came to Microsoft after 25 years at Tandy—and he helped guide the company through its initial public offering in 1986. He remained on the board after stepping down from his role as president and chief operating officer in 1990.