Satya Nadella to be new CEO of Microsoft

HYDERABAD: Global technology major Microsoft may name Indian-American top executive Satya Nadella as the new chief executive officer replacing longtime chief Steve Ballmer.

Once finalised, he will become the company's third CEO in its history. The Hyderabadi has been among the front-runners being considered for the top job. On August 23, 2013, Steve Ballmer announced his intention to retire.

Reports indicate that the technology giant is nearing to name its CEO with Nadella getting favourable acceptance for the top post. Also it is getting more evident that Microsoft will not look to replace the position with an outsider.

There are also indications that the Microsoft Board is also looking at replacing co-founder Bill Gates as chairman. The company's board is believed to be considering Microsoft lead independent director John Thompson replacing Gates.

Satya Nadella is currently executive vice president of Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise group, responsible for building and running the company's computing platforms, developer tools and cloud services.

He and his team delivered the 'Cloud OS', Microsoft's next generation back end platform which not only powers all of its Internet scale cloud services but also fuels global enterprises around the world to meet their mission-critical computing needs.

Previously, Nadella was president of Microsoft's $19 billion Server and Tools Business and led the transformation of the business and technology from client-server software to cloud infrastructure and services.

He also held roles including senior vice president of R&D for the Online Services Division and vice president of the Microsoft Business Division. Before joining Microsoft in February 1992, Nadella was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems.

A native of Hyderabad, Nadella earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin ' Milwaukee and a master's degree in business administration from Booth School of Business, University of Chicago in 1994-96.

If Nadella emerges as the next CEO who is currently seen as a popular choice, he would be the third CEO in Microsoft's 38-year history after Gates and Ballmer.

The appointment would place Nadella among a proud lot of India-origin executives overseeing top global companies. PepsiCo chairman and chief executive officer Indra Nooyi, MasterCard president and chief executive officer Ajay Banga and Deutsche Bank Co-CEO Anshu Jain have already achieved this distinction.

Former chief executive of Nokia, Stephen Elop, has also been considered for the position. The final announcement on the appointment decision is expected next week. The outgoing CEO of Microsoft, Ballmer, joined Microsoft in 1980 and was the company's first business manager.

Before becoming CEO in 2000, his roles at Microsoft included senior vice president of sales and support, senior vice president of systems software and vice president of marketing.