(Disclaimer: Microsoft is a client of the author and says Bill Gates saved his job as a first-year analyst.

But he also says Gates never gave him a promised tour of his house.)Bill Gates resigned from Microsoft board of directors last week, pretty much ending his official ties to the company he co-founded.

He says he still available as a technology adviser to CEO Satya Nadella and other Microsoft leaders, but otherwise he devoting himself completely to his other pursuits, like philanthropy.Gates and the company he started very nearly 45 years ago with Paul Allen transformed the computing landscape.

Throughout the period of Microsoft early growth and maturation, Gates was at the helm as CEO, demonstrating business leadership and competitiveness that, even more than technology, were keys to the company success.