Steven Ballmer graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics. After graduation, Ballmer worked for two years at Procter & Gamble as an assistant product manager before joining Stanford Graduate School of Business to get a Master of Business Administration degree.
He dropped out a year later, and on June 11, 1980 he joined Microsoft. In July 1998, he was promoted to president, and on January 13, 2000, he was named chief executive officer when Gates stepped down from that position.