After what seemed like forever, Microsoft has finally named its next CEO - Satya Nadella - to replace Steve Ballmer. The 46-year old Satya Nadella will take over the company immediately, which would allow Ballmer to retire earlier than previously planned.
Microsoft's intention was to announce the new CEO by the end of 2013; however, the search pushed into 2014. The timing of announcing a new CEO is very important, as it puts Nadella in the driver's seat ahead of the company's reorganization and the impending closure of Microsoft's Nokia deal.
"Today is a very humbling day for me. It reminds me of my very first day at Microsoft, 22 years ago. Like you, I had a choice about where to come to work. I came here because I believed Microsoft was the best company in the world. I saw then how clearly we empower people to do magical things with our creations and ultimately make the world a better place. 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," said Nadella in a letter to Microsoft employees.
Having Nadella at the helm of Microsoft could be seen as a company going back to its roots. Bill Gates as CEO was known as a person who understands technology, a nerd if you will. However, Steve Ballmer is a business man and doesn't have much experience in important technological areas. Satya Nadella, on the other hand, studied Electrical Engineering at the Mangalore University, along with computer science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
As Nadella takes control of Microsoft, co-founder Bill Gates steps down as chairman and into a new role. His official title is now founder and technology advisor. The new chairman at Microsoft will now be John Thompson, who joined the board back in 2012.
"I'm thrilled that Satya has asked me to step up, substantially increasing my time at the company," said Gates in a video. "I'll have over a third of my time available to meet with product groups and it'll be fun to define this next round of products working together."
Former CEO, Steve Ballmer also had good things to say as he put his support behind Nadella. "I have absolutely no doubt Microsoft is in good hands, with Satya and the rest of the senior leadership team that is in place," Ballmer said. "We have so many strong leaders - the future of Microsoft is incredibly bright."
Satya Nadella is the person behind Microsoft's successful cloud business. He can be credited for pushing cloud sevices into Xbox Live, SkyDrive, Skype, and Bing. Knowing what we know of the new CEO, the future of Microsoft may very well be in the cloud.
