After months of rumours and speculation, Microsoft has put industry watchers out of their misery and announced that Satya Nadella will be the company‘s new Chief Executive Officer.
Microsoft confirmed the news yesterday afternoon that Nadella, a longtime executive at the company, would now be the top boss.
Before assuming his role as the new CEO, Nadella was the Vice President of Microsoft‘s Cloud and Enterprise business. He‘s not a newbie either; Nadella has been with the company for 22 years, a topic he also addressed in his first letter to employees as their new boss:
“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 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“
Nadella is only Microsoft‘s third ever CEO. He replaces Steve Ballmer, who announced in August of last year that he is stepping down. The only other CEO in Microsoft‘s history, is founder Bill Gates – a man that seems to be very happy with Nadella‘s appointment.
It is rumoured that Gates was the one pushing for Nadella to be nominated for CEO. Before yesterday‘s big announcement, many people speculated that the company would appoint an outsider as CEO. But, alas, Microsoft (or perhaps Gates) decided to keep it in the family and appoint Nadella.
However, Nadella won‘t completely be thrown in the deep end. In light of the new appointment, Bill Gates has stepped down as chairman of Microsoft and will now assume an advisory role and assist Nadella. No doubt that the new CEO is thankful for that.
Of course, no new CEO will be welcomed without any critics. Some industry watcher and critics feel that while Nadella is tech savvy and good with people, he might not have enough strength from a business and visionary point of view.
But, whether or not Nadella has a business brain or not, he will take over the reins at Microsoft with some key issues to sort out.
Firstly, one of Microsoft‘s biggest problems is breaking into the (already overpopulated) cloud computing scene. He will have to figure out a way to strategically place Microsoft‘s cloud service, Windows Azure, into the market – alongside many heavy weights.
Furthermore, another thorn in the side of Microsoft, is their mobile market. The Windows Phone is still lacking behind the iPhone and Android, and will have to make some serious adjustments to give those two a run for their money.
In essence, it looks like Nadella has his work cut out for him. Whether or not he will make a huge impact on Microsoft, remains to be seen. But, it‘s probably beneficial to the company that they chose someone that has been there for 22 years – it insures some patriotism, no?
Below is a video of Bill Gates welcoming Satya Nadella as their new CEO:
What are your thoughts on Microsoft‘s new CEO? And what changes would like Nadella to implement?
Source: Gigaom
