Qualcomm exec as CEO candidate to Microsoft ?

Microsoft is considering Qualcomm chief operating officer Steve Mollenkopf as a candidate for its new chief executive officer, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, as it reaches the final stages of a four-month search process.

The world's biggest software company is down to a "handful" of candidates with no clear leader, including a hitherto unconsidered technology executive, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters this week.

In the past few months, most attention has focused on Ford Motor Co CEO Alan Mulally, a friend of Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's current CEO who announced his plans to retire earlier this year. Mulally is credited with rescuing the beleaguered auto giant, but sources said an external tech executive is in the running, plus one or two internal executives.

Microsoft declined comment on its CEO search, and Qualcomm declined comment on Mollenkopf's potential candidacy.

People familiar with the process expect Microsoft to select a new CEO before the end of the year, although the committee formed to find Ballmer's successor gave itself 12 months to do its work when it was formed in August.