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Microsoft Expands Board, Announces Quarterly Dividend

Microsoft on Wednesday added retired J.P. Morgan Chase chief financial officer Dina Dublon to its board of directors and announced a quarterly dividend of 8 cents per share.

Dublon, 51, joins the board's audit committee. Her appointment brings the Microsoft board back to 10 members. It had dropped to nine members when William G. Reed Jr. retired last year after 17 years on the board.

In a news release, Microsoft pointed out that, once Dublon joins, eight of 10 board members will be independent. Non-independent board members are chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer. Board member Jon Shirley is a former president and chief operating officer of Microsoft.

Other Microsoft board members are James I. Cash Jr., Ph.D., former James E. Robison professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School; Raymond V. Gilmartin, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Merck & Co. Inc.; Ann McLaughlin Korologos, chairman emeritus of The Aspen Institute and senior adviser with Benedetto, Gartland & Co. Inc.; David F. Marquardt, general partner at August Capital; Charles H. Noski, former vice chairman of AT&T Corp.; and Dr. Helmut Panke, chairman of the board of management at BMW AG.

Also on Wednesday, the board declared the 8-cent quarterly dividend, payable on June 9. The regular quarterly dividend is part of Microsoft's plan laid out in July to reduce its cash reserve, which peaked in the neighborhood of $60 billion.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

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