Satya Nadella, previously chief of Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise group, has been named Microsoft’s new CEO. As is traditional in big companies like Microsoft, Nadella decapitated the last CEO, Steve Ballmer, who left in August, and consumed his power.
Bill Gates has also stepped down as chairman of the Board of Directors but will remain as founder and technological advisor. John Thompson, lead director of the board has stepped in as the new chairman.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.
As Microsoft’s antideluvian progenitor, Bill Gates gave Nadella his blessing in a statement.
“Satya is a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, business vision and the ability to bring people together,” said Gates. “His vision for how technology will be used and experienced around the world is exactly what Microsoft needs as the company enters its next chapter of expanded product innovation and growth.”
“The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly, move faster and continue to transform,” said Nadella after the announcement. “A big part of my job is to accelerate our ability to bring innovative products to our customers more quickly.”
Nadella has been with Microsoft for 22 years and ran the cloud services which maintained Xbox Live and Bing.
Cheers, Eurogamer.