Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer Resigns

Microsoft Corp. Chief Technology Officer Nathan Myhrvold, the brains behind the software titan’s $3-billion-a-year research lab, has left the company, officially ending a nearly yearlong leave of absence. Myhrvold, 40, said he would continue to advise Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates occasionally, as he has since going on leave last July to hunt for dinosaur fossils in Montana and pursue other interests. “If I wanted to do a single thing, I’d go back to Microsoft,” Myhrvold said. “But there’s so much I want to do and try, and so far I’ve been having a great time doing it.” Myhrvold holds a doctorate in theoretical and mathematical physics and also has certificates in mountain climbing, formula car racing, photography and French cooking. He has been known on occasion to cook at Rover’s, an expensive five-star restaurant in Seattle. “Nathan’s contributions to Microsoft and to the creation of Microsoft Research were critical,” Gates said in a prepared statement. Myhrvold’s decision marks the latest in a series of high-level departures from Microsoft, including that of the company’s former chief financial officer, Greg Maffei.