Microsoft has announced the appointment of Satya Nadella as its new CEO, in a series of internal top level movement that also sees founder Bill Gates step down as Chairman.
“During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella,” said Bill Gates.
Prior to Nadella’s appointment, he previously held the position of Executive Vice President of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group, spearheading major strategy and technical shifts across the company’s portfolio of products and services, most notably the company’s move to the cloud and the development of one of the largest cloud infrastructures in the world supporting Bing, Xbox, Office and other services.
Satya’s new role makes him the 3rd CEO of Microsoft, replacing former head Steve Ballmer, who announced plans to retire last August once a new CEO was appointed.
Microsoft also announced a board room shake up, with founder Bill Gates stepping down as Chairman. He will assume a new role on the Board as Founder and Technology Advisor, and will devote more time to the company, supporting Nadella in shaping technology and product direction.
John Thompson, lead independent director for the Board of Directors, will take up the role of Chairman while remaining an independent director on the Board.
