Microsoft is considering Qualcomm Chief Operating Officer Steve Mollenkopf as a candidate for its new chief executive officer. The world's biggest software company is down to a "handful" of candidates with no clear leader.

Most had thought that Ford Motor Co CEO Alan Mulally, a friend of Steve Ballmer, would get the job. Mulally is credited with rescuing the beleaguered auto giant, but sources said an external tech executive is in the running, plus one or two internal executives.

People familiar with the process expect Microsoft to select a new CEO before Christmas.

Mollenkopf, an engineer who holds several wireless patents and has risen to the top management ranks at Qualcomm since joining the company in 1994, appears to meet the requirements of the Microsoft CEO job laid out by Chairman Bill Gates last month.