Ericsson CEO in the running for Microsoft top job

Hans Vestberg

Microsoft is reportedly considering Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg as a possible replacement for chief executive Steve Ballmer, who announced in August he will retire this year.

According to a Bloomberg report, which cites people briefed on the search, Vestberg is in the running for the top job alongside other candidates – including Microsoft cloud-computing chief Satya Nadella and former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop.

In December, Microsoft said in an official blog post that it initially identified “over 100 possible candidates,” for the CEO job. “[We] talked with several dozen, and then focused our energy intensely on a group of about 20 individuals.”

At the time, Microsoft said that it expects to reach a decision “in the early part of 2014.

Vestberg joined Ericsson in 1988 and served as chief financial officer before becoming CEO in 2010.