Who is Satya Nadella?
Satya Nadella is an Indian-American business leader who has been CEO of Microsoft since 2014 and chairman since 2021. He is credited with reviving Microsoft by moving it to cloud computing and placing it at the centre of the AI boom.
Early life and education
Nadella was born in Hyderabad in 1967. He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology, a master’s in computer science from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, which he completed while working at Microsoft.
Career highlights
- Sun Microsystems: worked on its technology staff before joining Microsoft in 1992.
- Cloud and enterprise: led the group that built Microsoft’s server and cloud business, including Azure.
- CEO (2014): succeeded Steve Ballmer as Microsoft’s third CEO.
- Acquisitions: LinkedIn (2016), GitHub (2018) and Activision Blizzard (2023).
- AI partnership: made Microsoft OpenAI’s key partner, bringing AI into products through Copilot.
Major achievements
Under Nadella, Azure became one of the world’s top cloud platforms, and Microsoft’s market value rose to among the highest of any company.
Expertise and leadership style
Nadella is known for empathy and a “growth mindset” culture, encouraging employees to keep learning. He opened Microsoft up to partners, putting its software on rival platforms such as iOS, Android and Linux.
Impact
His turnaround of Microsoft is often studied as a model of cultural change in a large company.
Notable recognition
He received India’s Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2015 and the Padma Bhushan in 2022.
Personal touch
He wrote Hit Refresh (2017) about his life and Microsoft’s transformation, and is a lifelong cricket fan.
The Microsoft turnaround
When Nadella became CEO, Microsoft was seen as slow and focused on protecting Windows. He changed direction with a “mobile-first, cloud-first” strategy, made Office available on iPhone and Android, embraced open-source software and rebuilt the company around Azure and subscriptions such as Microsoft 365. Later, his early bet on OpenAI let Microsoft add AI tools like Copilot across Windows, Office, GitHub and Azure, helping it become one of the most valuable companies in the world.
Timeline: key moments
- 1967Born in Hyderabad
- 1988Graduates from Manipal
- 1992Joins Microsoft
- 1997Completes MBA at Chicago
- 2011Leads Server and Tools
- 2014Becomes CEO of Microsoft
- 2016Acquires LinkedIn
- 2018Acquires GitHub
- 2019First investment in OpenAI
- 2021Becomes chairman
- 2023Acquires Activision Blizzard
Satya Nadella rebuilt Microsoft around cloud, AI and a learning culture, proving that even giant companies can reinvent themselves.
