Microsoft Loses Another Internet Champion

JOHN LUDWIG, one of the architects of the Redmond software giant's come-from-behind embrace of the Web, says, `It may be time to try something else.' Ludwig is one of three Net pioneers taking a break from the company.

Microsoft Vice President John Ludwig has joined the growing list of executives taking a break from the company.

Ludwig, one of the company's early Internet champions, decided to spend some time with his wife and children after an intense 11-year career at the company.

"My kids are 9 and 14 and still put up with me," he joked yesterday, shortly before departing on a school field trip with his son. "This is a good time in their lives to do things with them I won't have the opportunity to do again."

While Ludwig's leave is officially pegged at three months, he concedes he's not sure he will return when his leave ends.

"I'm going to spend some time thinking about where I'm headed," he said. "It may be time to try something else."

Ludwig is just one of three key Internet pioneers at the company to take a break. J Allard, whom Bill Gates credits in his recent book for getting Microsoft to embrace in the Internet, and Thomas Reardon, a key strategist who led competition against Microsoft rivals Novell and Netscape, are also on leave.

They and Brad Silverberg, who led the Windows 95 and Internet Explorer efforts, say that the intense 1995-to-1997 Internet boom was a "to-the-mountaintop" experience they've found difficult to

duplicate.

"We were right there in the crucible," said Silverberg, who returned from an extended leave as a consultant. "It was an amazing time."

The departures come at a crucial time for Microsoft, which recently reorganized its corporate structure, naming new leaders to its Internet business.

One of those leaders, Vice President Jon De Vaan, said the leaves of Ludwig, Allard and Reardon were coincidental. And as important as those executives are to the company, a number of other key Internet strategists remain, including Ben Slivka and Brad Chase. And Silverberg, who turned down an offer to run Microsoft's Internet business, still puts in a significant amount of time as a consultant, De Vaan said.

Ludwig's departure comes less than a week after Nathan Myhrvold, the high-profile chief technologist at Microsoft, announced that he will take a one-year sabbatical.

The brain drain of departing executives is increasingly becoming a challenge for Microsoft. The company has made multimillionaires out of hundreds of employees, giving them the luxury to do as they please with their lives.

De Vaan, who has worked for Microsoft for 14 years, said the key is to remain challenged.

"It has to be something that gets them out of bed in the morning and keeps them awake at night," De Vaan said.

In a soul-searching e-mail Ludwig sent to his colleagues Thursday morning, he conceded that he doesn't have that sort of drive any longer.

"I find that I am still interested in working on large-scale industry-leading software-development efforts, but I am no longer driven to get up early and keep working late on those projects," Ludwig said.

Ludwig, who will turn 39 this month, led key Windows networking and browser efforts to help Microsoft catch up to the Internet battle it was late to join. He acknowledged yesterday that he is "not as engaged with the company" as he was during the frenzy of Internet development from 1995 through 1997.

The Windows browser cauldron was "certainly the high point in my career and in my life," Ludwig said. "It was a great time and a great team, and I miss working with a lot of those guys."

Jay Greene's phone message number is 206-464-3287. His e-mail address is: jgreene@seattletimes.com Paul Andrews' phone message number is 206-464-2360. His e-mail address is: pandrews@seattletimes.com