Reed Hastings, chief executive officer of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), decided to relinquish his seat in the board of directors of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).
The Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) CEO decided he is no longer seeking reelection for his current position, as lead independent director, after serving the board of directors of Microsoft for more than 5 years. Hastings will remain in his position until the annual shareholders meeting of the software giant in November. The board of directors is expected to appoint his successor during the meeting.
In a statement, Hastings said, “I’m thrilled to have served at such a pivotal time for Microsoft, including the development of Windows 8, Windows RT, and Microsoft Surface, which will bring exciting opportunities for customers and the industry as a whole.”
In addition, he explained that he decided to reduce the number of board seats he is serving on, in order to concentrate on Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), and his work in education. Hastings is a member of the board of directors of the California Charter Schools Association, Dreambox Learning, the Knowledge Is Power Program, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), and Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX).
Hastings joined the board of directors of Microsoft in 2007, and became a member of Facebook’s board in June 2011.
Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, recognized Hastings’ contributions as lead independent director of the company’s board. He said, “Reed has been a terrific board member, and his insights and experiences have really helped guide us through a critical period of transformation for both Microsoft and the industry.”
Traditionally, Microsoft’s board of directors is composed of 9 and 11 members. The company nominated nine members for reelection, including Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, Dina Dublon, former JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) CFO; Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College; Charles Noski, former vice chairman of Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), and John Thompson; CEO of Virtual Instruments, among others.
Last week, investment analysts from Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) were bullish on Netflix stock. According to them, Netflix stock is a “screaming buy.”
T2 Partners Hedge fund manager, Whitney Tilson, also noted that Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) has an encouraging potential to expand its business globally. He said, the company has a “light business model and can tap the large international markets.”
