Redmond, WA—Microsoft Corp.’s board of directors appointed Satya Nadella as a member of the board and chief executive officer, succeeding Steve Ballmer who said in August 2013 he would retire once a successor was named. Nadella was previously executive vice president of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group. Microsoft also announced that Bill Gates, previously chairman of the board of directors, assumed a new role on the board as founder and technology advisor.
“During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella,” said Gates. “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.”
Since joining Microsoft in 1992, Nadella has spearheaded major strategy and technical shifts across the company’s portfolio of products and services, most notably its 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.
“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. “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.”
Microsoft also announced that John Thompson, lead independent director for the board, assumed the role of chairman of the board of directors and remains an independent director. microsoft.com
