Hans Vestberg: potential Microsoft CEO?

The board started with more than 100 candidates and has since narrowed the list. Steve Ballmer said last August that he planned to retire within a year. 

Some CEO candidates have declined or dropped out of the running. Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally, 68, who had been under consideration for this position, said last week that he plans to stay at the automaker. Other CEO candidates have included Microsoft’s Executive Vice President Tony Bates and Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner.

Vestberg joined Ericsson in 1988 and served as the company’s chief financial officer from 2007 to 2009 before becoming CEO in January 2010. He has held management positions at Ericsson in China, Brazil, Mexico and the U.S. The CEO has raised Ericsson’s profile externally, including a keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2012.