> If you think about it, what does the "within 12 months" part even mean?
I'm not sure what part about that is confusing. In case you are ESL it means that Ballmer will retire before one year has elapsed.
> Like, if the deadline hits, they'll just take whoever they can get?
Running one of the largest, profitable and most prestigious companies in the world is a pretty good job. I'm pretty certain that there will be no shortage of qualified people willing to become the CEO:)
No one makes an announcement like this without planning ahead, they've already got either a new CEO or a very short list of people who they've already vetted.
I mean, a much more common way to do this is something like "has informed the company of his intention to retire as soon as a successor is announced." Or "announced he will retire at the end of the year and that the company’s board of directors has approved the promotion of X to CEO."
It may be more common, but I think that if it's stated the first way, it seems less planned and deliberate and it's more likely to rattle the market - or at the very least, send the media off looking for nefarious, non-business-related reasons for the retirement. It's almost as bad as suddenly retiring to "spend more time with the family".
I'm not sure what part about that is confusing. In case you are ESL it means that Ballmer will retire before one year has elapsed.
> Like, if the deadline hits, they'll just take whoever they can get?
Running one of the largest, profitable and most prestigious companies in the world is a pretty good job. I'm pretty certain that there will be no shortage of qualified people willing to become the CEO:)
No one makes an announcement like this without planning ahead, they've already got either a new CEO or a very short list of people who they've already vetted.