Microsoft Has a New CEO: Satya Nadella
Steve Ballmer, the man you knew as Microsoft’s CEO for more than a decade, has retired. The Redmond-based software giant has a new CEO now: Satya Nadella, formerly Executive Vice President of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group. As you can see from the video embedded below, Satya Nadella received a warm welcome from Microsoft employees and from the previous two CEOs, Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates.
For more than a decade, Steve Ballmer has been the image of Microsoft. The American businessman was named CEO of Microsoft in January 2000 and held that position since February 2014 when his retirement became official. We’ve known that Steve Ballmer was on the way out for quite some time. After all, in August 2013, Microsoft announced that Ballmer would retire within the next 12 months.
For the past few months we’ve been waiting for Microsoft to name a successor and, today, that wait is over. This week, Microsoft appointed Satya Nadella as the new Chief Executive Officer. Before being appointed CEO, Satya Nadella was the Executive VP of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group; he was responsible for building and running the company’s computing platforms, developer tools and cloud services.
“Satya is a proven leader” said Ballmer in an email sent to all Microsoft employees. “He’s got strong technical skills and great business insights. He has a remarkable ability to see what's going on in the market, to sense opportunity, and to really understand how we come together at Microsoft to execute against those opportunities in a collaborative way. I have worked closely with Satya for many years and I have seen these skills many times. He is not alone, though. Our Senior Leadership Team has never been stronger, and together this group will drive us forward.
“While we have seen great success, we are hungry to do more. Our industry does not respect tradition — it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places — as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world,” said Nadella in an email sent to all Microsoft employees.
There are another changes that deserve to be mentioned. Bill Gates stepped down as Chairman of the Board. He remains a member of Microsoft’s board and takes on the official title of “founder and technology advisor."
Board member John Thompson took over as board chairman.
Steve Ballmer remains on the Microsoft board as well.
For more than a decade, Steve Ballmer has been the image of Microsoft. The American businessman was named CEO of Microsoft in January 2000 and held that position since February 2014 when his retirement became official. We’ve known that Steve Ballmer was on the way out for quite some time. After all, in August 2013, Microsoft announced that Ballmer would retire within the next 12 months.
For the past few months we’ve been waiting for Microsoft to name a successor and, today, that wait is over. This week, Microsoft appointed Satya Nadella as the new Chief Executive Officer. Before being appointed CEO, Satya Nadella was the Executive VP of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group; he was responsible for building and running the company’s computing platforms, developer tools and cloud services.
“Satya is a proven leader” said Ballmer in an email sent to all Microsoft employees. “He’s got strong technical skills and great business insights. He has a remarkable ability to see what's going on in the market, to sense opportunity, and to really understand how we come together at Microsoft to execute against those opportunities in a collaborative way. I have worked closely with Satya for many years and I have seen these skills many times. He is not alone, though. Our Senior Leadership Team has never been stronger, and together this group will drive us forward.
“While we have seen great success, we are hungry to do more. Our industry does not respect tradition — it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places — as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world,” said Nadella in an email sent to all Microsoft employees.
There are another changes that deserve to be mentioned. Bill Gates stepped down as Chairman of the Board. He remains a member of Microsoft’s board and takes on the official title of “founder and technology advisor."
Board member John Thompson took over as board chairman.
Steve Ballmer remains on the Microsoft board as well.
