World: Resignation of Bill Gates in 2020 from Microsoft’s Board of Directors came after the board hired a law firm to investigate a romantic relationship he had with a Microsoft employee.
Microsoft Corp. conducted an investigation in 2019 into the woman’s allegations of prior sexual relationship with the co-founder.
During the probe, few board members ascertained Bill Gates inefficiently to continue as the Director at the software firm. However, it is reported that Gates stepped down before the board could make a formal decision on the matter.
“Microsoft received a concern in the latter half of 2019 that Bill Gates sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000,” Microsoft said in a statement. “A committee of the Board reviewed the concern, aided by an outside law firm, to conduct a thorough investigation. Throughout the investigation, Microsoft provided extensive support to the employee who raised the concern.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Gates quoted that the founder’s decision to leave the board wasn’t related to the allegations. “There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably,” she said. She said the “claim of mistreatment of employees is also false,” and that “the rumours and speculation surrounding Gates’ divorce are becoming increasingly absurd and it’s unfortunate that people who have little to no knowledge of the situation are being characterized as sources.”
Earlier this month, Melinda Gates — Bill Gates’ wife filed for divorce after 27 years of marriage. In a statement announcing their split, the couple said, “after a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage.”