WorldCom Beats Microsoft for Ex-Compaq Chief "While the announcement was expected, Mr. Capellas had been considering a competing offer to become the No. 3 executive at Microsoft until early Thursday, according to people close to the search process. These people said that soon after reports appeared Monday that Mr. Capellas was in the running for the WorldCom job, Microsoft approached him with a lucrative offer to become its president and chief operating officer. In that job, Mr. Capellas, 48, would have reported to Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman, and Steve Ballmer, the chief executive."