After months of waiting and speculation, Satya Nadella, rumored last week to have been the top pick for Microsoft’s CEO position, has been officially confirmed for the position. He hasn’t wasted any time, and the moment the announcement was made he emailed an introduction email to his new employees.
Many within the company would have already known the man personally, other by at least name or sight. Nadella has been working for Microsoft for more than twenty years, joining up in 1992. Since then he has been a part of several of departments, and headed others. Most recently, he was the vice president of the Cloud and Enterprise Department.
His email reflected this, speaking on his vision for the future with the assumption that most within the company were already aware of him. He also paid tribute to the company, the former two CEO’s, and the new chairman of the board.
It is an incredible honor for me to lead and serve this great company of ours. Steve and Bill have taken it from an idea to one of the greatest and most universally admired companies in the world. I’ve been fortunate to work closely with both Bill and Steve in my different roles at Microsoft, and as I step in as CEO, I’ve asked Bill to devote additional time to the company, focused on technology and products. I’m also looking forward to working with John Thompson as our new Chairman of the Board.
Perhaps the most pressing question on everyone’s mind is where he sees Microsoft heading under his leadership. Ballmer made a bold move to completely restructure the company, one that backfired and was most likely the final nail in his coffin as CEO. It is unlikely that Nadella will undo this, at least not right away. It would look bad, and require a massive effort. Instead, he will have to work with the framework that has been built. Something he seems eager to do.
His goals, as listed, include:
- Focusing on innovation in new products.
- Drive cultural change.
- Pushing the idea of meaning in an individual’s work, and how it can impact the lives of others.
All of this is rather idealistic, and doesn’t give a concrete outline about how he might change the company now that he has taken the reigns. But as this is his first day, it isn’t surprising. The company has already seen a massive overhaul, and so the softly-softly approach is a wise move, in the beginning.
Still, it will be interesting to see what ideas he filters out over the coming months, once he has settled in.
Source: Microsoft Blog