For those who are following major news in the technology scene, the biggest topic being discussed now is not a new iPhone, but Microsoft naming its new CEO.
Reports from various tech websites shared that the Redmond-based company announced Satya Nadella as its next Chief Executive Officer, replacing long time CEO Steve Ballmer. Microsoft has been around for almost 4 decades, and Nadella is just its 3rd CEO.
Nadella was the company’s vice president for Cloud and Enterprise. He was responsible for Microsoft’s move to focus most of its product onto a cloud-centric platform. Key products he was directly involved of as the company’s Cloud Chief include Bing, Xbox, and Microsoft Office.
Prior to his years at Microsoft, he worked at Sun Microsystems as a staff in its tech department until 1992.
Other than his strong technical resume, what caught our attention was that Satya Nadella was raised in Asia.
Born in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh India, Satya’s dad was a member of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2009. Before earning his university degree at the University of Chicago-Wisconsin, he attended and earned a degree in Manipal Institute of Technology in Karnataka.
Image Source: Myescapades
The Times of India also reported some interesting facts about Nadella. More specifically, they wrote: “The appointment would be a significant achievement for Nadella, who would join a proud circle of India-origin executives helming top global companies.”
Manipal Institute, where Nadella earned his degree in Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication is also in the mood for celebration. The university chancellor mentioned to TOI:
“I am very very proud that one of our students has got the top job in the corporate world. Yes, it is a great day for Manipal University. Every single student, past and present will cherish this glorious moment. Satya’s great achievement has done Manipal Institute of Technology and Manipal University proud.”
Some of Satya’s professors were also interviewed and they had only good things to say about the new Microsoft CEO. His professor for digital electronics recalled: “As a student he had a keen eye for details. He would always want to know the how and why of everything that was being taught in the class. He never would take the next step without fully knowing the step he has already taken“.
After his stint at SUN, he started working for Microsoft, rising through the ranks until he becomes its chief executive. Ballmer praised Nadella’s focus and drive in the email sent to the employees, which can be read publicly in Microsoft’s website:
“Satya is a proven leader. 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.”
Bill Gates, the company’s founder and now technology advisor, also said this in a statement:
“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.”
It is perhaps an interesting time for the global technology giant. With its many businesses, analysts were in unison in predicting that Microsoft will choose its next CEO within the company rather than electing someone externally.
Under Satya’s leadership, Microsoft’s big mission right now is to innovate, and to bring it to greater heights and meeting the expectation from the mass public.
And that comes with tremendous pressure.
We need to bear in mind that we are now in the Post PC era, and tablets and smartphones are the growing industries, which has been hurting PC’s sales across the board, where Microsoft has a mammoth share of the market. With Windows 8, the company hopes to tie its hardware businesses together into just one OS.
Another interesting area within Microsoft’s portfolio is its search and games division, an area which Satya has to look closer into.
Bing, its search engine, though has been breaking new grounds in search technology, but it is still nowhere near Google’s. Bing has recently been integrated into most of the company’s products, including the new Xbox One, a division where Satya Nadella was directly involved before assuming the CEO role of the company.
We will be keeping an eye for what’s happening in the cloud and gaming division of Microsoft.
