Ray Ozzie leaving Microsoft - what does that mean?

http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/225271.asp

Ray was a tech-driven guy, in a role where he was supposed to be a visionary. But without the business acumen or executive backing, I think he was doomed to fail. I don't think it's a role any one person can play anymore.

That doesn't mean it's not needed. Thinking, planning, and executing are at the heart of any successful business, and vision is the starting point.


Some may think Bill Gates should come back, but I don't really see him being anymore successful. Maybe on the executive and business area, but wasn't Gates the guy who missed the Internet in the first place because of his focus on Windows?


Two things I wonder about -

1) What role did the MS Presidents play in ousting him, if any?

2) I read somewhere that Ozzie was one of the few outsiders Bill Gates showed the original Windows code to way back when. I also read that the first Windows Product Manager was none other than Steve Ballmer. I wonder what kind of relationship Ballmer and Ozzie had and whether there was any tension?

In any case, that the role isn't being filled I think speaks volumes about the direction the company is taking.