Satya Nadella, who was born in Hyderabad, India in 1967, has been appointed CEO of Microsoft Corporation, after a very long search for the right candidate. Satya Nadella is only the third CEO in Microsoft’s 39-year history, following co-founder Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.
Satya Nadella has worked at Microsoft for 22 years, and has been an executive in some of the company’s fastest-growing and most-profitable businesses, including its Office and server and tools business. He received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and a master’s of business administration from the University of Chicago.
Satya Nadella will have to face many challenges which are bothering Microsoft. Microsoft has been late adapting to developments in the technology industry. It allowed Google to dominate in online search and advertising, and it watched as iPhones, iPads and Android devices grew to siphon sales from the company’s strengths in personal computers. His immediate task would be to streamline Nokia’s money-losing phone and services business, which Microsoft bought for $ 7.3 billion.
Since joining the company in 1992, Nadella has spearheaded major strategy and technical shifts across the company’s portfolio of products and services, most notably the company’s move to the cloud and the development of one of the largest cloud infrastructures in the world supporting Bing, Xbox, Office and other services. During his tenure overseeing Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business, the division outperformed the market and took share from competitors.
“During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella,” said Bill Gates, Microsoft’s Founder and Member of the Board of Directors. “Satya is a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, business vision and the ability to bring people together. His vision for how technology will be used and experienced around the world is exactly what Microsoft needs as the company enters its next chapter of expanded product innovation and growth.”
Microsoft also announced that Bill Gates, previously Chairman of the Board of Directors, will assume a new role on the Board as Founder and Technology Advisor, and will devote more time to the company, supporting Nadella in shaping technology and product direction. John Thompson, lead independent director for the Board of Directors, will assume the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors and remain an independent director on the Board.
