Ballmer is recasting Microsoft as a "devices and services" company
trying to put the company's hardware and cloud offerings on equal footing with software. He's expected to reassemble his top execs to align Microsoft to that new image.
Zynga's hiring of Xbox Chief Don Mattrick as its new CEO, announced Monday, may have put a wrinkle in Microsoft's reorganization plans.
Mattrick was thought to be up for a bigger role running Microsoft hardware. The person that takes on that role will clearly get more power, but they'll also be on the hot seat. Sales of Microsoft's Surface PC have been sluggish so far, according to some reports.
Here's who is expected to gain power now, according to unnamed sources quoted in the Bloomberg report.
Windows chief
Windows Phone software chief Terry Myerson: Myerson could take over Windows operating system engineering, and that group could be combined with the phone group, according to Bass' sources. That could take Microsoft one step closer to having the same Windows code base work on its PCs, tablets and phones. Today, Windows 8.1 is for PCs and tablets, while Windows Phone is on its own.
Server and Tools chief Satya Nadella: Nadella is currently the head of the $19 billion division that builds the company's Windows server developer tools and cloud services. He could be put in charge of a new unit that's more focused on cloud services for enterprises.
Skype president Tony Bates: Bates could emerge as the biggest winner, as he could be in charge of acquisitions and developer relationships, and maybe even strategy, Bass reports. That would give him far more power across the company than running the Skype business unit, which is current role.