Satya Narayana Nadella[a] (born 19 August 1967) is anIndian-American business executive who is the chairman andchief executive officer (CEO) ofMicrosoft, succeedingSteve Ballmer in 2014 as CEO andJohn W. Thompson in 2021 as chairman.[b][5][6][7][8] 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.[9]
Nadella worked atSun Microsystems as a member of its technology staff before joining Microsoft in 1992.[28]
Microsoft
1992–2014
Nadella on his first day as CEO of Microsoft, with former CEOsBill Gates (left) andSteve Ballmer (right)
At Microsoft, Nadella has led major projects that included the company's move tocloud computing and the development of one of the largest cloud infrastructures in the world.[29]
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.[30] 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 fromclient services tocloud infrastructure andservices. He has been credited for helping bringMicrosoft's database,Windows Server anddeveloper tools to itsAzure cloud.[27] The revenue from Cloud Services grew to $20.3billion in June 2013 from $16.6billion when he took over in 2011.[31] He received $84.5million in 2016 pay.[32][33]
In 2013, Nadella's base salary was reportedly $669,167. Including stock bonuses, the total compensation stood at around $7.6million.[34]
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)[36]
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[37]
Chief executive officer (2014–present)
On 4 February 2014, Nadella was announced as the new CEO of Microsoft,[38][39] the third CEO in the company's history, followingBill Gates andSteve Ballmer.[40]
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.[41] Nadella was criticised for the statement and he later apologized on Twitter.[42] He then sent an email to Microsoft employees admitting he was "Completely wrong."[43]
Nadella leads a live discussion on Microsoft's cloud strategy in 2014 in San Francisco.
Nadella's tenure at Microsoft has emphasized working with companies and technologies with which Microsoft also competes, includingApple Inc.,[44]Salesforce,[45]IBM,[46] andDropbox.[47] In contrast to previous Microsoft campaigns against theLinux operating system, Nadella proclaimed that "Microsoft ❤️ Linux",[48] and Microsoft joined theLinux Foundation as a Platinum member in 2016.[49]
Under Nadella, Microsoft revised its mission statement to "empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more".[50] He orchestrated a cultural shift at Microsoft by emphasizing empathy, collaboration, and 'growth mindset'.[51][52] He has transformed Microsoft'scorporate culture into one that emphasizes continual learning and growth.[53]
In 2014, Nadella's first acquisition with Microsoft was ofMojang, a Swedish game company best known for the computer gameMinecraft, for $2.5 billion. He followed that by purchasingXamarin for an undisclosed amount.[54] He oversaw the purchase of professional networkLinkedIn[55] in 2016 for $26.2 billion.[56] On 26 October 2018,Microsoft acquiredGitHub for US$7.5 billion.[57]
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.[58][59]
In 2024, Nadella's compensation from Microsoft totaled $79.1 million, an increase of 63% over his 2023 compensation of $48.5 million.[60]
In 1992, Nadella married Anupama Priyadarshini, the daughter of his father'sIndian Administrative Service (IAS)batchmate.[74][75] Both Nadella and Anupama are the only children from their parents.[76] She was his junior atManipal pursuing aB.Arch in the Faculty of Architecture.[77] The couple have three children, a son (deceased) and two daughters, and live inClyde Hill[78] andBellevue, Washington.[79] His son Zain was a legally blindquadriplegic withcerebral palsy.[80] Zain died in February 2022, at the age of 26.[81] According to Nadella, being the father of a child with special needs was a turning point in his life.[82]
Nadella is an avid reader ofAmerican andIndian poetry and enjoyscricket, having played on his school team.[83] He credits cricket for improving his leadership skills.[84]
In 2017, Nadella published a book titledHit Refresh, exploring his life and career at Microsoft.[86] He announced that the profits from the book would go to Microsoft Philanthropies and through that tononprofit organizations.[87]
^Sherman Hollar, Satya Nadella at theEncyclopædia Britannica. "Satya Nadella (born August 19, 1967, Hyderabad, India) is an Indian-born business executive who was CEO of the computer software company Microsoft from 2014."
^"Satya Nadella".Brockhaus Encyclopedia. Retrieved5 November 2025. [Nadella, Satya, American computer scientist and manager of Indian origin, * Hyderabad 1967.]
^"Satya Nadella".Nationalencyklopedin. Retrieved5 November 2025. [Nadella, Satya, born 1967 in India, American business executive, since 2014 CEO of Microsoft Corporation. Satya Nadella, who grew up in Hyderabad, India, holds master's degrees in both computer science and business administration from American universities. Before joining the Microsoft Group in 1992, he worked for Sun Microsystems Inc.]
^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. Retrieved27 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.
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