Microsoft’s board of directors has named Satya Nadella as its new CEO. Nadella is the company’s third CEO in its 39-year history, following Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates. He has been at Microsoft for 22 years, most recently serving as the executive vice president of its Cloud and Enterprise division.
“During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella,” Microsoft founder Bill Gates said. “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.”
“Having worked with him for more than 20 years, I know that Satya is the right leader at the right time for Microsoft,” added departing CEO Steve Ballmer. “I’ve had the distinct privilege of working with the most talented employees and senior leadership team in the industry, and I know their passion and hunger for greatness will only grow stronger under Satya’s leadership.”
Nadella has also issued an open letter to Microsoft employees, outlining his vision for the company’s future.
“I came here because I believed Microsoft was the best company in the world,” Nadella wrote, in part. “I knew there was no better company to join if I wanted to make a difference. This is the very same inspiration that continues to drive me today.”
“It is an incredible honor for me to lead and serve this great company of ours. Steve and Bill have taken it from an idea to one of the greatest and most universally admired companies in the world,” he continues. “I’ve been fortunate to work closely with both Bill and Steve in my different roles at Microsoft, and as I step in as CEO, I’ve asked Bill to devote additional time to the company, focused on technology and products.”
“As we look forward, we must zero in on what Microsoft can uniquely contribute to the world,” he added. “The opportunity ahead will require us to reimagine a lot of what we have done in the past for a mobile and cloud-first world, and do new things.”
(via GI International)