5 People To Watch

RAY OZZIE, MICROSOFT
Ray Ozzie is the golden boy hand-picked by Bill Gates to lead Microsoft’s second charge into the software-based service era.

The creator of Lotus Notes was appointed one of three chief technology officers when Microsoft acquired Groove Networks last March and has already ascended to superstar status in the corporation.

In November, Ozzie and Gates–once fierce rivals in the e-mail and groupware market—stood on stage together in San Francisco to launch the first two offerings of Microsoft’s next-generation services platform: Windows Live and Office Live.

His ascension is no surprise. Observers believe that Gates, who once called Ozzie the best programmer in the universe, acquired Groove more for its founder than for its collaboration software.

With the full backing of Gates, Ozzie is staging a coup based on the same strategy Microsoft used to unseat Netscape and, ironically, Lotus Notes: integration with widely deployed Microsoft software such as Windows and Office.

One former Microsofter who oversees open-source strategy for a consulting firm says Ozzie has the vision and talent to outsmart rivals and that his biggest challenge will come from within the gates of Microsoft.

“Microsoft has a history of bringing in executives from the outside world because they want the DNA but within two to three years, the executive turns to the outside world in frustration,” said Stephen Walli, a vice president at Optaros, Cambridge, Mass. “As much as Microsoft wants that DNA, they aren’t able to change the culture and the executive leaves to do new things.”
-- Paula Rooney