Makoto Naruke describes himself as a "perverse man" who avoids following the crowd and does things that others dare not. Many people questioned his actions when he quit as Microsoft Co. president last April, but Naruke simply pointed out he became sick of the post after nearly nine years of service.
While the firm's sales skyrocketed nearly 19-fold during his tenure, from 9 billion yen to 169 billion yen, the 45-year-old's interest in the job headed in the other direction.
"Microsoft was fun in the beginning because the firm was unique back then," said Naruke, who joined Microsoft Corp.'s then little-known Japanese affiliate in 1982, as it was trying to get personal computers into ordinary households. "But now there are many others doing the same. It's not that I want to become No. 1 among many. I would rather be one of a very few, if not the one and only," he said.