5 years ago... Gates steps down as CEO

14.01.2000: Bill Gates, chief executive of Microsoft, said late yesterday he will resign as CEO in favour of Steve Ballmer.

Gates will remain chairman of the software giant and will take on a new title "chief software architect". Gates said in a statement that the change allows him "to do what I love most, focusing on technologies for the future".

The announcement was made after official trading hours on Nasdaq, but in after the bell trading, Microsoft shares were largely unaffected.

14.01.2005: Five years on this structure remains in place but for all the changes of job title Bill Gates will always be top dog in most people's eyes. He could change his title to janitor and the public and the industry would still regard him as Mr Microsoft.

The two figures are very different kinds of business leader. In a lot of ways Ballmer is a textbook Big Corp stereotype - brash, controversial and loud to the point some may say offensive, whereas Gates has always appeared to chart a more measured and pensive path.

Gates phenomenal chart topping wealth and status means he typically dominates the headlines ahead of his old buddy Ballmer, but love them or hate them it's certainly proved a successful double act and one which is likely to ring up a great many more anniversaries.