Microsoft names new CEO; Gates steps down as chairman
Posted February 4, 2014 8:04 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
REDMOND, Wash. (NEWS1130) – Microsoft founder Bill Gates is stepping down as chairman to take on a new role as technology adviser.
Satya Nadella, an executive in charge of the company’s small, but growing business of delivering software and services over the Internet, is going to replace Steve Ballmer as CEO, who announced last August that he would leave the company within 12 months.
Nadella will become only the third leader in the software giant’s 38-year history, after Gates and Ballmer.
Board member John Thompson will serve as Microsoft’s new chairman.
Nadella is 46 and has worked at Microsoft for 22 years. He’s been an executive in some of the company’s fastest-growing and most profitable businesses, including its Office and server and tools business.
Microsoft says Gates, in his new role as founder and technology advisor, will support Nadella in shaping technology and product direction.
Gates will also remain a member of Microsoft’s board.
Analysts hope Nadella can maintain Microsoft’s momentum in the rapidly expanding field of cloud computing while minimizing the negative impact from Microsoft’s unprofitable forays into consumer hardware.
