Satya Narayana Nadella (/nəˈdɛlə/; born 19 August 1967) is an Indian-American business executive. He is the
executive chairman and
CEO of
Microsoft, succeeding
Steve Ballmer in 2014 as CEO[2][3] and
John W. Thompson in 2021 as chairman.[4][5] Before becoming CEO, he was the executive vice president of Microsoft's cloud and enterprise group, responsible for building and running the company's computing platforms.[6]
Early life
Nadella was born on 19 August 1967 in
Hyderabad into a
Telugu-speaking
Hindu family.[7][8][9][10] His mother Prabhavati was a
Sanskrit lecturer.[11] His father, Bukkapuram Nadella Yugandhar, was an
Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1962 batch.[12][13][9] Yugandhar hailed from Bukkapuram in
Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh;[14][15] his own father had migrated to Bukkapuram from Nadella village in Guntur district (present-day Palnadu district) of Andhra Pradesh.[16][17]
Nadella worked at
Sun Microsystems as a member of its technology staff before joining Microsoft in 1992.[25]
Microsoft
1992–2014
At Microsoft, Nadella has led major projects that included the company's move to
cloud computing and the development of one of the largest cloud infrastructures in the world.[26]
Nadella worked as the senior vice-president of research and development (R&D) for the Online Services Division and vice-president of the Microsoft Business Division. Later, he was made the president of Microsoft's $19billion Server and Tools Business and led a transformation of the company's business and technology culture from
client services to
cloud infrastructure and
services. He has been credited for helping bring
Microsoft's database,
Windows Server and
developer tools to its
Azure cloud.[24] The revenue from Cloud Services grew to $20.3billion in June 2013 from $16.6billion when he took over in 2011.[27] He received $84.5million in 2016 pay.[28][29]
In 2013, Nadella's base salary was reportedly $669,167. Including stock bonuses, the total compensation stood at around $7.6million.[30]
President of the Server & Tools Division (9 February 2011 – February 2014)
Senior Vice-president of Research and Development for the Online Services Division (March 2007 – February 2011)[32]
Vice-president of the Business Division
Corporate Vice-president of Business Solutions and Search & Advertising Platform Group
Executive Vice-president of Cloud and Enterprise group[33]
Chief executive officer (2014–present)
On 4 February 2014, Nadella was announced as the new CEO of Microsoft,[2][34] the third CEO in the company's history, following
Bill Gates and
Steve Ballmer.[35]
In October 2014, Nadella attended an event on Women in Computing and courted controversy after he made a statement that women should not ask for a raise and should trust the system.[36] Nadella was criticised for the statement and he later apologized on Twitter.[37] He then sent an email to Microsoft employees admitting he was "Completely wrong."[38]
Nadella's tenure at Microsoft has emphasized working with companies and technologies with which Microsoft also competes, including
Apple Inc.,[39]Salesforce,[40]IBM,[41] and
Dropbox.[42] In contrast to previous Microsoft campaigns against the
Linux operating system, Nadella proclaimed that "Microsoft ❤️ Linux",[43] and Microsoft joined the
Linux Foundation as a Platinum member in 2016.[44]
Under Nadella, Microsoft revised its mission statement to "empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more".[45] He orchestrated a cultural shift at Microsoft by emphasizing empathy, collaboration, and 'growth mindset'.[46][47] He has transformed Microsoft's
corporate culture into one that emphasizes continual learning and growth.[48]
In 2014, Nadella's first acquisition with Microsoft was of
Mojang, a Swedish game company best known for the computer game Minecraft, for $2.5 billion. He followed that by purchasing
Xamarin for an undisclosed amount.[49] He oversaw the purchase of professional network
LinkedIn[50] in 2016 for $26.2 billion.[51] On 26 October 2018,
Microsoft acquired
GitHub for US$7.5 billion.[52]
As of November 2023, Microsoft stock had increased nearly tenfold since Nadella became CEO in 2014, with a 27% annual growth rate, ending a 14-year period of near zero growth.[53][54]
In 1992, Nadella married Anupama, the daughter of his father's
IASbatchmate. Both Nadella and Anupama are the only children from their parents.[65] She was his junior at
Manipal pursuing a
B.Arch in the Faculty of Architecture.[66] The couple had three children, a son and two daughters, and live in
Clyde Hill[67] and
Bellevue, Washington.[68] His son Zain was a legally blind
quadriplegic with
cerebral palsy.[69] Zain died in February 2022, at the age of 26.[70] According to Nadella, being the father of a child with special needs was a turning point in his life.[71]
Nadella is an avid reader of
American and
Indian poetry and enjoys
cricket, having played on his school team.[72] He credits cricket for improving his leadership skills.[73]
Nadella has authored a book titled Hit Refresh that explores his life, his career in Microsoft and how he believes technology will shape the future. He announced that the profits from the book would go to Microsoft Philanthropies and through that to
nonprofit organizations.[75]
^Benjamin, Ravi P. (19 June 2021).
"Bukkapuram, Sathya Nadella's village, yet to cheer his elevation". The Hans India.
Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023. Yugandhar's father migrated from Nadella village in Guntur to Bukkapuram in Yellanur mandal in the district and Yugandhar did his primary school education in the local panchayat school but whereas Sathya had his schooling in Hyderabad Public School.