Microsoft says it warned Bill Gates about flirting in 2008

Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw told the Journal that the 2008 warning from company executives happened shortly before Bill Gates retired as a full-time employee

Microsoft executives in 2008 warned Bill Gates to stop sending flirtatious emails to a female employee but dropped the matter after he told them he would stop, the company revealed on October 18.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report that Brad Smith, then Microsoft’s general counsel and now its president and vice-chair, and another executive met with Mr. Gates after the company discovered inappropriate emails to a mid-level employee.

The newspaper reported that Mr. Gates didn’t deny the exchanges, and members of the Microsoft board who were briefed on them declined to take further action because there wasn’t any physical interaction between Mr. Gates and the employee.