Ex-CEO Steve Ballmer Resigns from Microsoft to Focus on NBA's Clippers

Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft Chief Executive, resigned from the board on Tuesday, after announcing that he aims to dedicate more time to the newly acquired Los Angeles Clippers basketball team.

Ballmer posted the letter on Microsoft's website, which said that he was pleased with the company's decision to appoint Satya Nadella as the new chief.

"Given my confidence and the multitude of new commitments I am taking on now, I think it would be impractical for me to continue to serve on the board, and it is best for me to move off," Ballmer said in the letter addressed to Nadella.

"The fall will be hectic between teaching a new class and the start of the NBA season so my departure from the board is effective immediately," he added.

Ballmer has worked for Microsoft for nearly 34 years and owns more than 333 million shares worth over $15 billion. In his letter, Ballmer noted that he currently stands as Microsoft's largest individual shareholder.

"I hold more Microsoft shares than anyone other than index funds and love the mix of profits, investments and dividends returned in our stock," Ballmer wrote. "I expect to continue holding that position for the foreseeable future."

Just a year ago, Ballmer had announced his plans to retire from Microsoft, amid discontent over his leadership fuelled by activist shareholder ValueAct Capital, reported Reuters.

Meanwhile, Nadella has applauded the 58-year-old's leadership skills in the company and added that under his inspection Microsoft team has created mobile-first and cloud-first software applications.

Nadella has spent the last several months competing with tech rivals such as Apple, Google and Facebook. Recently, Microsoft announced plans to cut thousands of jobs over the next year. The move was the part of its continued effort to realign resources and control expenses in the company.

The stock price of Microsoft Corp. ended 1.07 percent or $0.48 higher at $45.34 per share at NASDAQ Stock Exchange market on Tuesday.