Microsoft Corp. (MSFT:US) named Satya Nadella chief executive officer, tapping an insider steeped in business technology to speed a turnaround at a software maker that helped usher in the personal-computing age, only to be left behind as the world shifted toward the Web and mobile devices.
Nadella, 46, will replace Steve Ballmer effective immediately after a five-month search, Microsoft said in a statement today. Bill Gates, the company’s first CEO, will step aside as chairman and devote more time to product development, while remaining on the board and running his philanthropic foundation. John Thompson, the director who led the CEO search, becomes chairman.
The new CEO, who was born in India and joined Microsoft in 1992, takes over at a critical juncture. Consumers and businesses are shunning PCs in favour of handheld devices made by rivals, sapping demand for Microsoft’s flagship products. Besides playing catchup to the likes of Apple Inc. (AAPL:US) and Google Inc. (GOOG:US), Nadella will be tasked with completing strategy changes, begun by Ballmer last year. That includes integrating the $7.2 billion integration of Nokia Oyj (NOK1V)’s handset unit and turning Microsoft into a provider of services and hardware.
“He’s really the complete package -- he has incredible intellect but he also combines that with a deep curiosity and willingness to learn,” said Doug Burgum, who sold business-software developer Great Plains to Microsoft and oversaw Nadella while at the Redmond, Washington-based company.
Fresh Thinking
Nadella emerged as the top internal candidate by late November, people told Bloomberg News at the time.
While Nadella brings experience running cloud and enterprise businesses, he’ll need to boost Microsoft’s presence in consumer markets, where rivals have seized the lead. The first question on the minds of critics is whether the Microsoft veteran of 22 years can deliver the same fresh thinking as an outsider, said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets & Co.
“He has all the qualifications to take over, but the question for investors is will he be able to change things up,” said Ives, who rates Microsoft the equivalent of a hold.
Much will depend on the role of Microsoft’s board, where former CEOs Gates and Ballmer will remain directors. Thompson, the former Symantec Corp. (SYMC:US)CEO and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM:US) executive, will also bring a new perspective as chairman.
“During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella,” Gates said in the statement.
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