Bangalore: Microsoft chairman and co-founder said that he is not happy with the company’s pace of innovation and said that it mishandled its early mobile strategy, reports Reuters.

"We didn't miss cellphones, but the way that we went about it didn't allow us to get the leadership. It's clearly a mistake," Gates said in an interview with CBS.

When Gates was asked whether he’s happy with the company’s CEO Steve Ballmer’s performance, he said that Ballmer had achieved a lot but that both he and Ballmer were not satisfied.

"(Ballmer) and I are two of the most self-critical people I know," Gates said. "There are a lot of amazing things that Steve's leadership achieved - Windows 8, the Surface computer, Bing, Xbox. Is it enough? No. He and I are not satisfied that in terms of breakthrough things we are doing everything possible."

Since from the time Ballmer took over the leadership of the company, Microsoft’s shares have dropped 45 percent.

“Ballmer is not the right leader for the world’s largest software company” a former senior Microsoft executive, Joachim Kempin, said in a book he wrote about his time at the company. He said that Ballmer held his grip on the leadership forcing out any rising manager who challenged his authority.

His criticism echoes that of investor David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital, who called for Ballmer to step down in 2011.

Microsoft has faced criticism for its latest Windows 8 versions for different devices, while its Bing search engine has won only a small market share.

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