Microsoft president Mr Steve Ballmer joined the firm in 1980 and has served in numerous executive roles within the company. A big man with a big voice and commanding presence, he has been a close friend of founder and chairman Mr Bill Gates since the two were students at Harvard in the 1970s.

A boisterous personality overlays a ruthless business nature and Mr Ballmer is seen as both formidable and adept, an invaluable right-hand man to Mr Gates. He enjoys the wealth that early and regular infusions of share options have brought to Microsoft's key personalities.

Mr Ballmer is at the helm just as the company is facing its most daunting challenge - an antitrust suit brought by the US Department of Justice and 19 states threatens to penalise or dismantle the software giant. The judge in the case recently issued his Findings of Fact, a report that accuses the company of being a monopoly and of having illegally crushed its competition. As former executive vice-president of sales and support, Mr Ballmer would have had responsibility for many of the activities condemned by the judge.

Mr Ballmer visited Microsoft's Irish operations last Friday and spoke to a gathering of key business people about the upcoming launch of Microsoft's operating system, Windows 2000, which he sees as part of a broader Microsoft "Web platform". He also discussed Microsoft's new vision and mission statement - to empower people through the use of technology and the Internet.