(Telecompaper) Ford CEO Alan Mulally said he is not a candidate to become the new CEO of Microsoft. "I would like to end the Microsoft speculation because I have no other plans to do anything other than serve Ford," Mulally told The Associated Press in an interview. Following Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's announcement in August 2013 that he would step down in the following year, Mulally emerged as a favourite to head the software giant. Remaining candidates include Satya Nadella, who oversees Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise group, and Tony Bates, the former Skype CEO who now heads business development and strategy for Microsoft. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has also been named a possibility, pending Microsoft's takeover of Nokia's handset business.