Microsoft announced this morning that Satya Nadella will serve as its third chief executive.
Various reports over the past week pegged Nadella, Microsoft’s former cloud and enterprise head, as the leading candidate to replace Steve Ballmer when he retires later this year. A 22-year veteran of the company, Nadella’s appointment makes it clear that cloud services will play a big role in Microsoft’s future.
In addition, Microsoft also announced that founder Bill Gates will step down as chairman of the board and take on a new Technology Advisor role to “devote more time to the company.” John Thompson, who led the new CEO search, will take up the mantle as chairman of the board.
“Microsoft is one of those rare companies to have truly revolutionized the world through technology, and I couldn’t be more honored to have been chosen to lead the company,” Nadella said in a statement this morning. “The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly, move faster and continue to transform. A big part of my job is to accelerate our ability to bring innovative products to our customers more quickly.”
In his previous role, Nadella led the development of Microsoft’s cloud services, which serves as the backbone for things like Office 365, Xbox Live, and Bing. One of Nadella’s big challenges going forward will be to help Microsoft regain some relevance in the mobile world. Windows Phone has inched its way towards being the third-place smartphone platform, but that was mainly due to BlackBerry’s implosion and success in European markets.
“Microsoft is a really complex business. … You’re never going to find a CEO who is going to do it all,” said Kevin Spain, a former Microsoft executive who previously worked as Nadella and now serves as a general partner at Emergence Capital Partners. ” Instead, you need someone who is a great leader, and a great teambuilder, and I think Satya is both of those things.”
Leave a reply