During Microsoft’s annual shareholder meeting, Chairman Bill Gates stated that the board had convened to discuss potential candidates who would replace current Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer.  No news yet as to when the successor would be named, but he did state that he, the directors, and the team assigned to help them hunt for the best possible replacement have met with a lot of CEO candidates.

“It’s a complex role to fill,” Gates said. He thanked Ballmer and, while almost choking up, said that “we share a commitment to make sure the next CEO is the right person for the right time for the company we both love.”

Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Microsoft had narrowed its search to five candidates, namely; Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, Ford CEO Alan Mulally, Microsoft Executive VP Tony Bates, Microsoft Executive VP Satya Nadella, and Computer Sciences Corp CEO Mike Lawrie. The special team assigned to this CEO task is said to be looking at executives from a wide range of sectors, including life sciences and consumer.  Others who are still said to be under consideration for the position include Microsoft COO Kevin Turner.

Gates has yet to confirm this speculation, but three people familiar with the matter stated that the board is aiming to make its choice as soon as next month.

Also announced at the meeting was the re-election of directors, as well as Ballmer, but shareholder advisory firm Glass Lewis recommended to withhold votes for the re-election of John Thompson as lead independent contractor as he is also leading the board in search of the next Microsoft CEO.

Thompson is the CEO of Virtual Instruments, a cloud computing company that sells licenses and devices, which Microsoft paid $2.3 million last fiscal year.  Glass Lewis argued that Thompson’s role at both companies created a potential conflict, and classified him as an “affiliated” director as opposed to “independent”, which makes him an inappropriate choice to lead the board.

The shareholder meeting was said to have been one of the best attended in recent years and it might be due to the fact that it is Ballmer’s last before he finally steps down as the company’s CEO.

Compared to Ballmer’s teary-eyed demeanor during the company-wide meeting back in September, he was in a much more jovial mode.  This could be due to Nokia shareholders clearing the sale of the company’s device business to Microsoft.

“Our industry is in a period of incredible innovation, and Microsoft is uniquely positioned to drive and define the next big thing,” Ballmer said. “There is no way for this company to succeed unless it is willing to bet.”