Who's Hot, And Not, At MicrosoftWho's Hot, And Not, At Microsoft

COO Kevin Turner's bonus, including cash and stock, was $9.63 million, or 110% of his target, on top of a salary of $750,000. Quoth the board: "Mr. Turner led his organization to excellent sales results while effectively managing costs." I guess he did, and if we meet for coffee--he's buying.

The board also noted that, under Turner, "his team achieved year-over-year growth in customer satisfaction."

With his two decades of experience at Wal-Mart, both on the consumer-facing retail side and as CIO, a stint that gave him real-world insight into the needs of enterprise customers, Turner must be considered a strong candidate for Microsoft's corner office if Ballmer decides to step down or is ever pushed out.

The runner up in Microsoft's bonus sweeps was Office division chief Kurt DelBene, whose unit posted a 17% increase in sales last year, reaching more than $20 billion. "Under Mr. DelBene's leadership Office 2010 continued to be the fastest-selling version of Microsoft Office in history," said the board. For DelBene, that added up to a bonus of $7.25 million, or 132% of his target award, plus $630,000 in salary.

In the middle class, there's Windows group head Stephen Sinofsky. His bonus for fiscal 2011 was $6.3 million. That should keep him in Starbucks for awhile, but he could have made more. Sinofksy only got 90% of his target award (plus $650,000 in salary) due to a 2% decline in Windows sales that Microsoft blamed on "a decline in the worldwide consumer PC market." (Translation: Everyone's buying iPads.)

Last on the list is Microsoft CFO Peter Klein who, with a bonus of just $3.6 million and a salary of $530,000, is probably set to join "Occupy Redmond." Still, that was 120% of his target.

Microsoft's board lauded the fact that Klein's "leadership extended to the overall acquisition and growth strategy, particularly in the planning, due diligence, and oversight of the acquisition of Skype." He better hope the deal goes through.

All in all, Microsoft's top five executives split $27.46 million in bonuses, during a year in which the company posted record sales and profits, but also fell further behind in tablets and smartphones, and failed to move the needle on a stock price that's been stagnant for a decade.

Was the multimillion-dollar haul excessive, or fair compensation for leading the world's biggest software company to continued growth despite the weak economy? That's ultimately a question for Microsoft's shareholders, but we'd like to hear your thoughts, as well.