Bob Herbold left Cincinnati and a 26-year career at Procter & Gamble Co. in 1994 for Redmond, Wash. Hired by Microsoft Corp. as president and chief operating officer, he would be at Bill Gates' right hand, to make sure the organization kept up with the company's explosive growth.

Bob Herbold (right) sat next to CEO Bill Gates at Microsoft's annual meeting in 1999. (Associated Press photo) | ZOOM |

        Mr. Herbold planned to stay four years; he stayed more than six, as the company's growth and the federal antitrust suit kept him there. During that time, Microsoft's sales grew by a factor of six, to $26 billion. Employment tripled, to 42,600.

        And this week, Mr. Herbold, 58, said he's retiring.

        Sort of.

        “It's been a real ball,” he told the Enquirer Friday, but “enough is enough, in terms of 80-hour weeks.”

        He plans to spend a third of his time working for Microsoft, representing the company for government and industry issues. Last week, he said he was among 15 technology company executives to meet with President Bush. “I'll continue to do those kinds of things for the company,” he said.

        He's on the boards of paper company Weyerhaeuser, the Hewlett-Packard spinoff Agilent and a startup called Terabeam.

        Mr. Herbold said he'll probably pick up a few more board seats, and start a consulting business, focusing on corporate profitability.

        He is also on the boards of the University of Cincinnati Foundation and Case Western Reserve University — his alma maters — but he admits that he hasn't had much time for those.

        That's retirement? “It'll be fun,” he said. “It'll be more variety in my life, and some breathing room to spend some time doing the things that I enjoy.”

        He and his wife have a home in Bellevue, Wash., and are building one in the San Juan Islands, north of Seattle.

        “I bought a float plane and have a pilot, and I'm ready to go,” he said.
       

Real world must be easier
Laughing all the way to the little bank
Small banks fill void left by takeovers
Microsoft president retiring
GE gets foot in door at Qantas
Understanding the emotions of overspending
Bush plans to revoke Clinton labor initiatives
HIGGINS: Personal finance
Industry notes: Commercial real estate
NYSE members want to know point of decimals
Producers' prices shot up in Jan.
Savvy Strategies
The Sophisticated Investor
Business Digest
Tristate Business Summary
What's the Buzz?