Kiwi swept along by dynamic Microsoft

Microsoft chief financial officer New Zealander Chris Liddell says his first five months at the billion-dollar giant have been hectic but "fabulous" - and with the biggest product roll out in the company's history under way he has no intention of just keeping score.

"It's a vastly complex company. We span virtually every part of the technology world so there's an enormous amount to learn, but I've thrown myself in at the deep end."

Under his watch the 2100-strong worker finance group will play a leading role in setting a business strategy that includes a hectic schedule of new releases.

Microsoft last week held its first mid-size business summit at its Redmond, US, headquarters, launching the Dynamics business applications brand into a market it says spent US$134 billion last year on software and services. Office Small Business Accounting 2006 and Small Business Management Edition 2006 were also launched at the summit, Xbox 360 comes out later this year and next year will see the release of Microsoft Office 12, the Vista operating system and Centro server solution.

"We can either see ourselves just simply as the score keepers or we can see ourselves as being at the forefront in trying to drive change and ideas and performance management."

Liddell says he's been swept along by the "relatively casual" yet dynamic culture at Microsoft.

"In my old industry ... you make 30-year investment decisions. Here, broadly speaking, most of the products we are making decision on now won't exist in five to ten years' time."

The only surprises have been positive, he says, including the high level of energy "despite the size of the company".

Liddell's decision to join Microsoft in April was an easy one.

"Microsoft is the success story of my generation. I can't think of a more interesting company to be part of. What it has been able to achieve over the last 25 years is just phenomenal."

He says financial discipline is essential to control a workforce of nearly 60,000 people working on everything from enterprise business software to home entertainment.

"It's a vastly different challenge from a 50 person start-up [company] where you can look [at] and feel and touch everyone on a daily basis.

"Here you've got this massive flotilla of boats that you want to keep going in the same direction."

The skills required are common to his previous roles but Liddell has found their application can be fundamentally different.

"Being disciplined about cost structure, especially in a mature commodity business, unfortunately means often closing facilities or having people taken out.

"Because we are still growing here [at Microsoft], we don't have that same challenge."

Liddell expects Microsoft to hire about 5000 more employees this year and grow revenue by about 10 per cent from US$39.79 billion for the year to June 30.

Apart from looking for cost efficiency in the roughly 20,000 strong supplier base, his main focus is to ensure the money spent on research - US$6.18 billion last year - adds value for shareholders.

Picking the right investment isn't about looking for a fast buck. Gaming product Xbox is an example of the company's long term commitment, he said. "We have not made money on that division in the first couple of years of its existence. But we have a long-term belief it's going to be an extremely profitable platform."

Although his sights are firmly set on the future of Microsoft, Liddell was sad to see International Paper sell out of Carter Holt Harvey. But in exchange, he said, Carter Holt had gained one of New Zealand's best strategists in new shareholder Graeme Hart.

"Business moves on, nothing stays still forever," he said. "I've got a lot of respect for him [Hart]. He's certainly one of the best businessmen if not the defining businessman of our generation."

A description many would reserve for his new boss, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates.

"Bill is a truly inspirational person to work with." said Liddell.

Chris Liddell

April 2005 joins Microsoft, as chief financial officer.

2003-2005: International Paper, senior vice-president and chief financial officer.

1995-2000: Carter Holt Harvey, chief financial officer, chief executive wood products group, chief executive.

1983-1995: CS First Boston, analyst, associate director, director, managing director (investment banking) and joint chief executive.