DeviceGuru

Today was Bill Gates’s last full-time day at Microsoft. To commemorate the event, Microsoft released a pair of photos showing 11 of the company’s first dozen employees — the so-called “Albuquerque Group” — back in 1978, and now.

Eleven of Microsoft’s first 12 employees, then…
(Click to enlarge; source: Microsoft)

Pictured above are 11 of Microsoft’s first 12 employees. The photo was taken in December of 1978, when the company was based in Albuquerque, NM. Roster (left to right):

• Back row: Steve Wood, Bob Wallace, Jim Lane
• Second row: Bob O’ Rear, Bob Greenberg, Marc McDonald, Paul Allen
• Front row: Bill Gates, Andrea Lewis, Marla Wood, Gordon Letwin

Miriam Lubow was absent from the photo.

…and now
(Click to enlarge; source: Microsoft)

The 11 surviving members of the Alburquerque Group assembled this month to honor Gates on the cusp of his transition out of a full-time role at Microsoft. Shown above are (left to right):

• Back row: Bob O’ Rear, Steve Wood, Bob Greenberg, Marc McDonald, Gordon Letwin, James Lane
• Front row: Bill Gates, Andrea Lewis, Miriam Lubow, Marla Wood, Paul Allen

Bob Wallace, employee #9, passed away in 2002.

Following the end of his full-time role at Microsoft, Gates plans to focus more of his energy on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He will, however, continue on as Microsoft’s chairman and will be involved in “select projects,” according to a Microsoft statement. Currently, the company’s top-level management team comprises Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie, and Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie.