Ballmer said he was leaving a month after his successor, Satya Nadella, announced unprecedented job cuts at Microsoft as it implemented plans to adapt its strategy to a "mobile first, cloud first" world.
"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 away," Ballmer said in a publicly posted letter to Nadella.
"I bleed Microsoft - have for 34 years and I always will." Nadella, in a responding online letter thanked Ballmer for his contributions to Microsoft and said he supported his decision to leave.
Ballmer said he would be devoting time to new endeavors that included teaching and working with the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team he bought earlier this month for $2bn.
Microsoft last month announced its biggest job cuts ever as Nadella called for greater focus at Microsoft while it integrates its Nokia phone division.
Microsoft will cut 18,000 jobs from its global workforce over the next year, the majority from the Nokia handset unit bought earliers this year.
Nadella seeks to reinvigorate a company that had been the world's largest for a sustained period but now lagged behind Google and Apple in the technology sector.
Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge
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