Satya Nadella - Indian

Indian on top:
Satya Nadella to captain new Microsoft innings
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Satya Nadella is latest India born power CEO

Microsoft names India-born Nadella as next CEO, Gates to advise on technology 04 All you need to know about Microsofts new CEO Satya Nadella Nadella outran better-known candidates for Microsoft CEO Not just Satya Nadella: Heres a list of top 10 India-born CEOs of global majors Wont wait for four years to tweet: Satya Nadellas first tweet as Microsoft CEO 06 07 09 15
Nadella to Anshu Jain: Business size of top-10 India origin CEOs rises to $350 bn 14
What Nadella says about Indian education

Nadella as Microsoft CEO: A slap in the face for Indian system Not IITs, Satya Nadellas rise proves you just need to dream big In India, would-be Microsoft CEO showed inquisitive streak 17 19 21
The Cricketing CEO

Watching Test cricket is like reading a Russian novel, so many subplots: Nadella 24 How playing cricket helped Satya Nadella become Microsoft CEO Cricket loving Nadella has many challenges at Microsoft, but will have Gates by his side 26 28
Nadella and the future of Microsoft

Here are 5 problems that Satya Nadella will have to solve at Microsoft Bill Gates is back and thats the big Microsoft story Believe in the impossible: Satya Nadellas memo to Microsoft A numbers guy shouldnt be Microsoft CEO: What US media had to say about Nadella Microsoft hopes new, old leaders can rekindle magic Microsofts journey: Four decades, three CEOs 31 33 35 37 38 40
Copyright 2012 Firstpost
Satya Nadella is latest India born power CEO
Microsoft names India-born Nadella

as next CEO, Gates to advise on technology
Reuters, Feb 4, 2014 portunity in the cloud." Thompson did not mention other candidates, although sources close to the company have told Reuters that at one time Ford Motor Co (F.N) CEO Alan Mulally was a leading contender.
eattle- Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) named 22-year company veteran Satya Nadella as its next chief executive officer on Tuesday and said co-founder Bill Gates would step down as chairman and advise the new CEO on technology, marking an epochal change of control at the company that drove the PC revolution. Nadella, a 46-year old born in India who led the creation of Microsoft's Internet-based, or "cloud" computing services, is only Microsoft's third CEO in 39 years, taking over from Steve Ballmer, who inherited the job from Gates in 2000. The move ends a five-month search process at the Redmond, Washington-based company, triggered by the August announcement of Ballmer's decision to retire. That was longer than many investors had expected. "It's a relief this process is over," said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. "Many investors view it as the 'safe pick' as Mr. Nadella is a born-and-bred Redmond insider. But the uphill battle continues for Microsoft on its path to growth." Microsoft's new chairman John Thompson, who led the search for a CEO, said the process went as planned. "We aimed to complete the process within four to six months, and we met that goal," Thompson said in a video statement on Microsoft's website. "After reviewing all of the candidates, Satya was our first and unanimous choice." Gates said Nadella's experience in cloud computing made him the right man to lead Microsoft, as the company struggles to find its feet in the new arena of mobile computing. "Satya's got the right background to lead the company during this era," said Gates. "There's a challenge in mobile computing. There's an op-
PC EROSION As he relinquishes the chairman's title, Gates will stay on the board and assume a new role as technology adviser to Nadella. "Satya's asked me to step up, substantially increasing the time that I spend at the company," Gates said in a video statement. "I'll have over a third of my time available to meet with product groups. It'll be fun to define this next round of products, working together." Gates left day-to-day work at Microsoft in 2008 to focus on philanthropy at his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which he says is still his main job. Shares of the world's largest software maker were up 0.2 percent at $36.54 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday morning. Nadella, who describes himself as a cricket and poetry lover, called the appointment "humbling" in an email to the company's employees. In a videotaped statement he said he would
focus on "ruthlessly" removing any obstacles to innovation at the company. Apart from Mulally, Nadella also beat out various other candidates for the job. Several were close to the company, like Stephen Elop, who is set to rejoin Microsoft when its acquisition of Nokia's (NOK1V.HE) handset business closes, and Tony Bates, the former Skype boss now in charge of Microsoft's business development. Investors and analysts are already weighing how effective Nadella will be in reigniting the company's mobile ambitions and satisfying Wall Street's hunger for cash.
Microsoft faces a slow erosion of its PC-centric Windows and Office franchises and needs somehow to challenge Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Google Inc (GOOG.O) in the new realm of mobile computing. At the same time, some investors are campaigning for retrenchment and a bigger cut of the company's massive cash pile. Most agree that Nadella's background makes him a safe pair of hands to take the company forward, but there remains a question over his ability to make Microsoft a hit with consumers or with impatient shareholders.
All you need to know about Microsofts new CEO Satya Nadella
Firstbiz Staff, Feb 4, 2014 he search for Microsofts CEO is over. The company has confirmed in a press release that India-born Satya Nadella is the new CEO of the software giant. Microsoft Corp said in a press statement that the board of Directors has appointed Satya Nadella as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors effective immediately.
- Since joining the company in 1992, Nadella has spearheaded major strategy and technical shifts across the companys portfolio of products and services, most notably the companys move to the cloud and the development of one of the largest cloud infrastructures in the world supporting Bing, Xbox, Office and other services. - Nadella strongly believes in the future of cloud computing, writing, "I believe over the next decade computing will become even more ubiquitous and intelligence will become ambient. The coevolution of software and new hardware form factors will intermediate and digitize many of the things we do and experience in business, life and our world." - He plans on prioritising innovation that is centered on Microsoft's core value of empowering users and organizations to do more.
Here's everything you need to know about the new Microsoft chief: - Hyderabad-born Nadella,46, has worked at Microsoft for 22 years in various capacities. - His hobbies include cricket and poetry. Growing up, playing cricket was his passion, and he played it competitively as a member of his schools team. He says the game taught him "... more about working in teams and leadership that has stayed with me throughout my career. - Nadella previously held the position of Executive Vice President of Microsofts Cloud and Enterprise group.
- Apart from his family he says his curiosity defines him. In his first email to employees he wrote -" I buy more books than I can finish. I sign up for more online courses than I can complete. I fundamentally believe that if you are not learning new things, you stop doing great and useful things. So family, curiosity and hunger for knowledge all define me." - Nadella has 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 Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Chicago.
Nadella outran better-known candidates for Microsoft CEO

After a bruising, five-month selection process, the list of contenders was cut to six serious candidates, with the chief executive job nearly going to Ford Motor Co CEO Alan Mulally, an outsider favored by investors lobbying for radical change.
FP Staff, September 24, 2013
ew York/Seattle: The race to determine the next head of Microsoft Corp looks to have ended where it began, with the software giant poised to take the route of least risk and tap rising internal star Satya Nadella for the job.
After a bruising, five-month selection process, the list of contenders was cut to six serious candidates, with the chief executive job nearly going to Ford Motor Co CEO Alan Mulally, an outsider favored by investors lobbying for radical change. If Nadella wins the day, as expected, it will be for his innovative work on Microsoft's growing server and tools business, which provides online computing and storage for companies, said a source briefed on the search process. Nadella is praised for his role in overseeing growth in Microsoft's cloud computing and Bing search engine business, and as a technologist with a talent for marketing. AP Nadella is in discussions with the board, and is likely to ask that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates drop his chairman role and help Nadella more closely on technology, two sources said. It is not clear why Nadella might want a role change for Gates. The presence of Gates and current CEO Steve Ballmer on the board has deterred some external candidates who feared they would meet resistance if they want to make fundamental changes, sources have told Reuters over the past few months. Nadella is praised for his role in overseeing
growth in the company's cloud computing and Bing search engine business, and as a technologist with a talent for marketing. Critics say he failed to halt Google Inc's dominance in the search engine business. They say Microsoft's entry into the cloud-computing arena was late and clunky, allowing Amazon.com Inc to set the standard in providing online computing platforms for companies
It remains unclear whether the 46-year old Indian-born executive will meet some investors' desire for more radical moves at the software maker, after Ballmer announced in August that he planned to retire. "From the technical side, Mr. Nadella is a good choice," said Rick Sherlund, an analyst at Nomura who publicly lobbied for an outside candidate who would shake up Microsoft and maximize returns to shareholders. "We do not want to see a continuation of the existing direction for the business, so it will
be important that Mr. Nadella be free to make changes," said Sherlund. It was just such a desire that made Mulally a front runner until a few weeks ago, when it became clear that the Ford CEO and Microsoft's search committee did not see eye to eye. "If (Mulally) had played his cards differently, it could have turned out differently," sources said of the Ford CEO, pointing to his failure to present a detailed plan to the board. The move weakened support for him among Microsoft's directors, they said. Mulally took himself out of the running once it became clear that Microsoft had cooled, the sources said. CANDIDATES DROP OUT In the meantime, outsiders Steve Mollenkopf from Qualcomm Inc and Ericsson's Hans Vestberg gained ground, the sources said, as they engaged more openly with the board. Both ultimately dropped out, Mollenkopf after he was offered a promotion to CEO at Qualcomm. At the same time, Microsoft refocused on insiders, including Nadella, Tony Bates - the former Skype boss now in charge of Microsoft's business development - and Stephen Elop, who is set to rejoin Microsoft when its acquisition of Nokia's handset business closes. Microsoft has declined to discuss individual candidates. Mulally never publicly confirmed his interest in the job but stated his intention to stay at Ford in early January. Vestberg and Mollenkopf also declared their intention to stay at their respective companies. Insiders Bates, Elop and Nadella have not spoken publicly about the process. Nadella's appointment has not been finalized, the source cautioned. The Microsoft board is set to meet early next week, where the terms of the new arrangement will be finalized. Nadella has a strong reputation inside the company. His inquisitive mind set him apart early in his career, friends in India say.
"Satya is by far the best internal choice," said Brad Silverberg, who was in charge of Microsoft's breakthrough Windows 95 release and went on to start Seattle-based venture capital firm Ignition Partners. To other Microsoft observers, Nadella's longevity at the company suggests that he is not a radical thinker and more of a political animal. "They need and will pick only a bendable guy, who will preserve the existing culture of saying yes," said Joachim Kempin, a former senior vice president of Microsoft and a long time critic of its management. GATES' ROLE Microsoft shares did not move much after word of Nadella's likely selection on Thursday after the market close. The stock closed up 2.66 percent at $37.84 in Nasdaq trading on Friday. Some welcomed the possibility of Gates, long seen by Wall Street as a barrier to change, moving into a more advisory role for Nadella. That could pave the way for lead independent director John Thompson to chair the board and take care of governance and managing investors, an area largely ignored by Ballmer and Gates. Nomura's Sherlund was not certain, however, that Thompson would be any more amenable to Wall Street. "In our conversations with Mr. Thompson, he has not appeared receptive to taking steps to enhance shareholder value through accelerated share repurchase, cost cutting and better focusing the business," said Sherlund. "This could be disappointing for investors, and it could take time for ValueAct to change the dynamics on the Board to effect a change in thinking with regard to shareholder value." Activist investor ValueAct took a $2 billion stake in Microsoft last year and immediately began campaigning for Ballmer's ouster. Microsoft offered the firm a seat on the board last year.
Heres a list of top 10 India-born CEOs of global majors
Not just Satya Nadella:
Satya Nadella, who has been with Microsoft for over 20 years, has joined the league of Indra Nooyi, Lakshmi Mittal, Anshu Jain and Ivan Menzes, among many other Indian-origin persons at the helm at large conglomerates headquartered abroad. Meet Indra Nooyi, CEO of Pepsi India. Reuters
Anshu Jain, co-CEO of Deutsche Bank. The bank has a total turnover of over $43 billion. ( Image: Reuters)
Ivan Menezes last year took over as chief of UK-based liquor giant Diageo.
Lakshmi Mittal, chief of steel major ArcelorMittal. The company's annual revenue stands at $84 billion. ( Image: Reuters)
Ajay Banga is the head of MasterCard. ( Image courtesy: Reuters)
Appointed on 9 November 2009, Piyush Gupta, 51, is CEO of DBS Group Holdings Ltd and DBS Bank Ltd. ( Image: Reuters)
Rakesh Kapoor has been the Chief Executive Officer of Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc since September 1, 2011. ( Image:Reuters)
Sanjay Kumar Jha is the CEO of Global Foundries and former chairman and chief executive officer of Motorola Mobility. ( Image: Reuters)
Sanjay Mehrotra co-founded SanDisk Corp., in 1988 and has been its Chief Executive Officer since January 1, 2011 and President since June 2006. ( Image:AFP)
Shantanu Nareyen, CEO of Adobe Systems. ( Image:Reuters)
of top-10 India origin CEOs rises to $350 bn

PTI, Feb 5, 2014 ith Satya Nadella becoming CEO at software giant Microsoft, 10 Indian origin persons holding top posts at global corporations manage businesses worth about $ 350 billion.
Nadella to Anshu Jain: Business size

at about $300 billion in the last fiscal and is estimated to be around $ 325 billion in the current fiscal ending next month.
The big conglomerations include Microsoft, PepsiCo, ArcelorMittal, Deutsche Bank, Diageo, Reckitt Benckiser (Rakesh Kapoor), MasterCard (Ajay Banga), DBS Group Holdings (Piyush Gupta), SanDisk (Sanjay Mehrotra), Global Foudries (Sanjay Jha) and Adobe (Shantanu Narayen). Anshu Jain serves as co-CEO of Germany's Deutsche Bank, while Menezes last year took over as chief of UK-based liquor giant Diageo. While Microsoft recorded turnover of over $78 billion last year, ArcelorMittal's annual revenue stood at $84 billion (down from over USD 93 billion in 2011 and over $100 billion a few years ago). Among large companies, PepsiCo commands $66 billion turnover, while Deutsche Bank has over $43 billion and Diageo over $18 billion. Among non-promoter CEOs, Nadella now runs the largest company among those run by Indian origin persons. In the past, giants like Citigroup, Vodafone and Motorola have also had Indian-origin CEOs. According to human resource experts, professionals in India have become global professionals. The technical skills and the behavioural patterns of Indians executives make them very much adaptable to any kind of situation they come across. Experts believe that Indians' focus on good education and ability to work in difficult situations is aiding to this rising trend and more and more Indians could rise to top positions at global companies in the near future.
Nadella, the Hyderabad-born cricket loving, engineerin executive, who has been with Microsoft for over 20 years, has joined the league of Indra Nooyi, Lakshmi Mittal, Anshu Jain and Ivan Menzes, among many other Indian-origin persons at the helm at large conglomerates headquartered abroad. There are many other Indians heading the businesses at relatively smaller companies abroad, specially in the IT sector, but at least 12 large companies have got India-born chief executives. International magazine Time once termed CEOs as India's leading "export" and said that the subcontinent could be "the ideal training ground for global bosses". Interestingly, the total size of businesses managed by just 10 Indian-origin CEOs globally exceed the total exports from India, which stood
Wont wait for four years to tweet:

Satya Nadellas first tweet as Microsoft CEO
Firstbiz Staff, Feb 5, 2014 "But you can't force a man to tweet. If Nadella doesn't want to, that's his choice. Though it would be great to hear more from him on Twitter considering most people agree that he's one of the smartest minds at Microsoft," we had noted. It looks like Nadella's back on Twitter and we may just be hearing a lot more him in the coming days.
e may have stayed away from Twitter for four years, but Satya Nadella, who was appointed as Microsoft CEO yesterday, finally returned to the micro-blogging site with a brief tweet that said: Firstbiz had earlier noted that "there are a sum total of 25 tweets from February 2009 till he ceased tweeting in July 2010. Incidentally, some of Nadella's peers in the cloud computing arena like Werner Vogels, CTO at Amazon, are big tweeters."
What Nadella says about Indian education
Nadella as Microsoft CEO: A slap in the face for Indian system

We can feel a touch of pride at the elevation of Satya Nadella as Microsoft CEO, but it is also a slap in the face of our system which sends talent offshore rather than growing them here.
R Jagannathan Feb 5, 2014
s the appointment of Satya Nadella a feather in Indias cap or a slap in the face for the Indian system?
get admissions even to an IIT or IIM, but it is far simpler to get into an Ivy League institution. If you dont get into an IIM, you try Harvard.
While Indian newspapers were over the moon about Nadellas elevation, with some justification, there is another side to the story we need to consider: why is it that Indias tech and other geniuses flower only in the US or Silicon Valley? Why is it that every India-origin person to win a Nobel after independence in the sciences is not an Indian citizen any more? Hargobind Khurana won the prize for medicine in 1968, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar for physics in 1983 and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan for chemistry in 2009. All of them flowered only because they left India, and not because they were Indians per se. They left India behind. In fact, Ramakrishnan was downright rude when Indians called to congratulate him in 2009. He said: We are all human beings, and our nationality is simply an accident of birth. He also complained about all sorts of people writing to him and clogging up my email box. It takes me an hour or two to just remove their mails. While his immediate reaction may seem churlish to us, underlying it all is the real issue: our Indian successes abroad have little to do with the fact that they are Indian. They succeed because they abandoned India. We need to ask ourselves: why does our system kill future heroes, while the US helps raise even ordinary Indians to iconic levels? It would not be out of place to mention that it is well-nigh impossible for 99 percent of Indian aspirants to
The short point: our system is designed to keep people out, not get them in. The true value of an IIT or IIM is not the intellectual capital they produce, but their filtering expertise which keeps all but the superlisters out of these institutions. When the people entering the institution are the best among the best, they will shine no matter what the quality of faculty or the curriculum. Perhaps this comes from our caste system, where castes try and keep others out, but we are stuck with this system of exclusion. Our system encourages talkers rather than doers.We think this makes us argumentative and democratic, but what this actually makes us is obstructionist rather than problem solvers. Our politics is about name-calling and running others down, not about doing something yourself. A Narasimha Rao and a Vajpayee who achieved something are voted out; a UPA-1 which did little beyond distributing taxpayers resources is voted in. This is one reason why we celebrate the rare
achievers so highly: TN Seshan, who armed the Election Commission with real teeth, Vinod Rai, who made CAG a household name, and E Sreedharan, the former boss of the Delhi Metro. And yet, we find the political class carping about them and calling them dictators. This is also the reason why we prefer autocratic rulers rather than democratic ones: we know we talk more than we act. To get things done, we prefer an autocrat to rule over us rather than exercise self-discipline as democrats. All our successful political parties are one-person shows. The latest heading in that direction is BJP which was all talk and no achievement for 10 years in opposition till Narendra Modi came along and was lauded for being a doer. If leaders emerge from our system, its due to a historical accident. As Ramchandra Guha points out in his book Patriots and Partisans, if Lal Bahadur Shastri had lived five more years, Indira Gandhi would not have been PM and Sonia Gandhi would still be a housewife. We are risk-avoiders rather than risk takers. This is why we prescribe endless paperwork and bureaucracy for simple things like opening a bank account or buying a mobile phone connection. A terrorist would have used an untraceable mobile number after which every Indian buying a mobile will be put through hoops to prove he is a bonafide consumer. This does not catch any terrorist, but the idea is for officials to avoid the risk that fingers will be pointed at you saying you did nothing to prevent terrorism. So orders will be issued to tighten the system and make things worse for everybody. A scam will happen somewhere. Suddenly files stop moving in every ministry. Forest clearances will take ages or never happen. The risk of being seen as doing something wrong is great. And so the buck is passed to someone else in the system. Sonia and Rahul want to be seen as do-gooders. So the dirty work of reform will be handed over to Manmohan Singh who is another risk-avoider. He will do nothing and allow the A Rajas to loot the exchequer rather than do his job. Doing nothing is safer than asking tough questions of his babus or ministers.
The BJP and other opposition leaders know that populist laws like the Food Security and Land Acquisition laws will damage the fiscal balance. But they too avoid risks by keeping quiet when wrong laws are passed. As a people, we are risk-avoiders as well. We know the IITs and IIMs are the way to big jobs. So when our kids want to become artists or cricketers, we tell them to forget it and study for IIT-JEE or CAT, never mind your own passion. Our engineers stop being engineers and start coding; they then opt for doing an MBA and become lousy man managers. Meanwhile, our engineering companies are starved of engineers. We are simply unable to tolerate success. If Modi talks about a Gujarat model, everybody has to bring it down. If Rahul claims his governments biggest achievement is the RTI, everyone will belittle it. If Chidambaram claims high growth as UPAs success, the Left will say this growth is not helping the poor. If we say poverty has reduced, others will say it hasnt. If it has, our definition of poverty must be wrong. We celebrate mediocrity, rather than excellence. Our system kills initiative rather than engender it. We want pliable yes-men and non-achievers around us, not non-conformists and people with ideas of their own. Our successes are more the result of accident than real effort. The 1991 external bankruptcy forced us to reform and liberalise. Manmohan Singhs reformism ended with that accident. Another accident made him PM in 2004, but he did little to use this chance to reform further. We are paying the price for his risk-aversion. A Satya Nadella, who is from Manipal , would never have made it big in India since he is not from the IITs. But even IITians dont flower much in an Indian corporate or academic environment; they leave India and prefer working with foreign firms. If Satya Nadella had remained in India, he would probably be working as a coder in Infosys or TCS. Earning a high salary no doubt, but an unlikely candidate for CEO.
Not IITs, Satya Nadellas rise

proves you just need to dream big
If Nadella can make it big on American soil, why cant somebody from a lesser known college or small town? After all, its all about enterprise, hard work and American soil now.
FP Editors Feb 6, 2014
or a million plus students who sacrifice the best three years of their adolescence, but still fail to make it anywhere close to the IITs should They have a new rockstar to look up to - Satya Nadella. The man who will head Bill Gates company is not from any of the IITs that gave us global heroes such as Rajat Gupta, Raghuram Rajan or Vinod Khosla, but to the Manipal Institute of Technology, a modest engineering college that is ranked way below the IITs. Incidentally, he also hails from a state thats crazy about IITs and run training sweatshops. IITs vs other engineering institutions has been a never ending argument among upwardly mobile students, their families and education circles. Internet forums are replete with such discussions, most of which are either blatant promotions of private engineering colleges or the disgruntlement of students who couldnt make it to the IITs. To prove a point, they even try to compile lists of non-IITians who have made it big in the global tech world. Its a perpetual mindset, an obsession or even a pet peeve. If Nadella can make it big on American soil, why cant somebody from a lesser known college or small town? After all, its all about enterprise, hard work and American soil now. The new Microsoft chief will certainly emerge as the poster boy for Manipal and thousands of students who passed out from there will celebrate. Facebook is full of self congratulating messages with some even gloating. But, inter-
estingly, this is not a new trend. In our obsession with the IITs and tech and business heroes, we forgot the non-IITians who trumped their college-status in not-so-quiet ways.
Venkat Ramakrishnan, the 2009 Nobel prize winner for Chemistry, was an IIT-reject. Not only he couldnt get into any of the IITs, he even failed to manage an admission to the Christian Medical College in Vellore. Unable to study engineering or medicine, he settled for physics at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore before going to America for his masters. The rest is history. The legendary Vinod Dham, the father of the Pentium chip didnt study in any of the IITs, but went to the modest Delhi Engineering College. He even worked in India for a few years before going to the US for his masters. After his masters, he began with a small company that made cash registers and diligently worked his way up before hanging up as the Vice President of Intel to be a venture capitalist.
As this Rediff bio notes, it was purely the entrepreneurial skills and hard work, and not the label of his degrees, that propelled his growth: Make a computer for Rs 9,999 and take it to the masses, he told the gathering (in India). A student pointed out that you couldn't even get a memory device for that kind of price. 'If there isn't one, you have to design one,' Dham shot back. A hero before many of the expat technology rockstars, Sabir Bhatia, who created Hotmail and sold it to Microsoft for a fortune, also didnt go to any IITs, but to BITS, Pilani. BITS also has to its credits many recent internet success stories in India. For instance, the Indian enterprise Redbus was founded by BITS graduates. Gullu Mirchandani of Onida, Gagan Chaddha of Value First and Rajesh Hukku of iFlex are from BITS. There are many more such examples. In 2013, out of the seven students that Facebook picked up from Indian campuses, only three
were from the IITs. While three were from a low profile International Institute of Information Technology in Hyderabad, one was from REC Trichy. So the moral of the story is this - if you are hardworking, enterprising (and are able to get through to the US), you can make it big. You dont need to to go the IITs. As reported by The Hindu , a background study of 317 immigrants who started tech companies in the US showed that graduates of Delhi University were twice the number of IITians. Similar was the case with two other public colleges, Osmania and Bombay University that trumped nearly all the other IITs. A similar trend was noted among Chinese immigrants, where the tech companies founders were from smaller universities compared to famed varsities like Fudan and Tsinghua.in August 2013 All you need is big dreams and of course, the escape velocity.
In India, would-be Microsoft CEO
showed inquisitive streak

Nadella grew up in Hyderabad, a technology hub that is home to the biggest Microsoft research and development centre outside of the United States.
Reuters, Feb 1, 2014
umbai: In his university days in India, Satya Nadella, likely the next chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp , was a relentless questioner. "When all other students will quietly listen to what I would teach, he will ask a lot of questions - 'why does it have to be like this, why can't we do it like this?'," said Harishchandra Hebbar, who taught digital electronics to Nadella at Manipal University. "Sometimes it felt like he was just testing my patience," said Hebbar, laughing. That questioning nature has served Nadella well in his 22-year career at Microsoft, the world's largest software company. Last year he was promoted to run the company's fast-expanding cloud, or Internet-based, computing initiatives. His elevation to the top spot at Microsoft would end a five-month search for a tech-savvy heavyhitter to lead the company co-founded by Bill Gates. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday that Nadella's appointment was likely, although the board had not yet met to finalise it. Nadella grew up in Hyderabad, a technology hub that is home to the biggest Microsoft research and development centre outside of the United States. His father was a member of the elite Indian Administrative Service and a member of the Planning Commission during 2004-2009 under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. His father, B. N. Yugandhar, who still lives in Hyderabad, declined to speak with Reuters when reached by phone.
Born in 1967, Nadella attended the prestigious Hyderabad Public School, where he met his future wife. Nadella studied electronics and communication engineering, at Manipal University, where people who knew him at the time described him as friendly, modest and wellspoken.
Manipal is a mid-ranking private institution, and does not have the cachet of the elite Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) where many of India's global power players were educated. GLOBAL INDIAN If he gets the top job at Microsoft, Nadella would join the growing list of Indian-born executives to head a major global corporation. They already include PepsiCo Inc CEO Indra Nooyi and Deutsche Bank co-CEO Anshu Jain. After graduating in 1988, Nadella, like many ambitious Indians, moved to the United States to study, earning a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Ganesh Prasad, a classmate of Nadella at Manipal who remains in touch with him, recalled a conversation in 1991 when Nadella was working at Sun Microsystems. "We were having a conversation and talking about Sun as the future of hardware ... and he was like: 'you know where I need to go? I need to be in software and I need to be in marketing and I need to be in Microsoft'," Prasad recalled by phone from Bangalore, where he now lives. Prasad, who worked for 20 years in the United States with Intel Inc , said Nadella started with
a base in technology and then became interested in how to market it - a skill set that will be called upon in his new role. By comparison, Microsoft's previous CEO, Steve Ballmer, was regarded more as a salesman and cheerleader than a technology visionary. "While he comes from a very strong technology background, his outlook over the years has changed to: 'so, what, what am I going to do with this thing? How do I position it? How do I make sense of it all?'," said Prasad.
The Cricketing CEO
Watching Test cricket is like reading

a Russian novel, so many subplots: Nadella
PTI, Feb 5, 2014 two Master's degrees in computer science and business administration from the University of Wisconsin and University of Chicago. Nadella, who joined Microsoft in 1992, previously served as the Executive Vice President of Cloud and Enterprise Group.
ew York: A cricket buff and poetry loving electrical engineer from Hyderabad Satya Nadella is the next occupant of the Microsoft corner office in Redmond from where Bill Gates built his software empire. Nadella joined Microsoft, the world's largest software company, over two decades ago. He is only the third CEO after Gates and Steve Ballmer in the 38-year old history of $78 billion company. His friends and family describe him as humble, nice, and a leader with a vision.
Hailing from Hyderabad, a land which produced cricketing heroes like ML Jaisimha, Mohd Azharuddin and VVS Laxman, Nadella's passion for the gentleman's game is not surprising. He says cricket taught him teamwork and leadership that helped him rise through the twists and turns of the corporate world. "I think playing cricket taught me more about working in teams and leadership that has stayed with me throughout my career," Nadella said after his appointment as Microsoft CEO was announced. He also enjoys watching Test cricket, which is the longest form of any sport in the world, with games that can go for days and days. I love it, he says. Theres so many subplots in it, its like reading a Russian novel. Nadella played cricket as part of the Hyderabad Public School team. Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen and billionaire investor and Chairman of Fairfax Holdings Prem Watsa studied in the same school. Nadella later went to the Mangalore University for Bachelor's in electrical engineering. He has Before joining Microsoft, Nadella was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems. Commenting on Nadella's elevation to the top job, India's largest software services exporter Tata Consultancy Services CEO N Chandrasekaran told PTI: "The world is at the cusp of a massive digital transformation." He further said: "It is a wonderful time for Satya to take over at the helm of a leading technology company like Microsoft. It is a proud moment and I wish Satya all success." In the past, TCS has worked with Microsoft as part of a joint venture in China for establishing a currency trading system. Son of BN Yugandhar, a 1962 batch IAS officer, Nadella is married to his high school sweetheart, Anupama V Nadella. He finds reading poetries of Indian and American poets relaxing.
Nadella says: I'm a learner. I think the thing that I realised is... what excites me is that I'm learning something... I fundamentally believe that if e also enjoys watching Test cricket, which is the longest form of any sport in the world, with games that can go for days and days. I love it, he says. Theres so many subplots in it, its like reading a Russian novel, says Nadella you are not learning new things, you stop doing great and useful things." And one gets to know his zest for learning when he says: "I used to fly to Chicago Friday nights, attend classes Saturdays and come back to Redmond to work during the week." It took him two-and-a-half years, but he finished his Master's degree. "Just crazy ambitions in the 15 minutes I have in the morning. You know, I'm trying to listen to a neuroscience class or something. I kind of ask myself, why are you doing it? But I love it," he says.
Soon after Nadella's appointment was made official, micro blogging site Twitter and social networking platform Facebook were abuzz with comments. Nadella's last tweet dates back to 2010, but his profile on Twitter has been updated. Wishes also poured in from friends in Hyderabad for the relatively unknown Nadella. One of his classmates from Hyderabad Public School (HPS), Faiz Khan, who is also the Secretary of the HPS Society, said that a special assembly of students would be convened tomorrow to share the joy. Another classmate M Chandrasekhar said that he felt very proud of Nadella. BVR Mohan Reddy, who is the Chairman and Managing Director of Infotech Enterprises, said it proves the point that people with merit and put in hard work are successful.
How playing cricket helped Satya
Nadella become Microsoft CEO

Uttara Choudhury Feb 5, 2014 the company. Gates said he would devote up to a third of his time which is now largely devoted to philanthropic activities to help Nadella craft Microsoft's product strategy as Microsoft tries to tap the booming market for mobile devices. His return raises questions as to how free a hand Mr Nadella will have in setting his own strategy as the company responds to an array of business challenges. Mr Gates, while known for his technical expertise, is also linked to past Microsoft product stumbles and has little track record in areas such as smartphones, which are critical to the company's future, noted The Wall Street Journal.
ew York: Charismatic Hyderabad born Satya Nadella was named as the CEO of $78 billion tech giant Microsoft on Tuesday. He will replace Steve Ballmer, becoming the third CEO of the world's largest software maker which fueled the PC revolution but is now trying to play catch-up in a market exploding with mobile devices.
The change of guard comes as Microsoft faces gradual erosion in its traditional PC-centric Windows and Office businesses. It is hoping to realize its mobile ambitions with the takeover of Finnish handset maker Nokia. Nadella of course inherits the challenge of integrating Nokias phone business into the company. In a message will resound with Indians anywhere in the world, Nadella attributed his meteoric rise in the corporate world to being fixated with Indias national pastime. "I think playing cricket taught me more about working in teams and leadership that has stayed with me throughout my career," Nadella said after he was named CEO of Microsoft. Nadella ascends as co-founder Bill Gates returns to a far more central role at Microsoft. Gates is stepping down as chairman, and assuming a new role as Technology Advisor, which will substantially increase his time at
People who have worked in or around Microsoft generally said it was sensible to put Mr Gates in a role that plays to his strengths as a technologist, but they also wondered whether the company's founder would be able to let other executives' decisions overrule him, added the Journal. Nadella, who is a 22-year Microsoft veteran and cloud guru, is well suited to the services portion of Microsofts recent realignment towards devices and services, but he is not as comfortable with the devices side of the business. Analysts say Nadella will presumably be bolstered by Gates return to active duty. Microsoft said Nadella, 47, had asked Gates to step into the advisory role. "I'm thrilled that Satya asked me to step up," Gates said in a video posted Tuesday. But the Journal reported that people close to the company believe the arrangement was also nudged forward by Gates, who had already stepped up activities at the company since Ballmer announced plans to step down in August. At any rate, Gates won't play a day-to-day management role which will fall squarely on Nadella.
Changing the world through technology Nadella who joined Microsoft in 1992, earlier headed Microsofts Cloud and Enterprise group, responsible for building and running the companys computing platforms, developer tools and cloud services. He jumped forward as the front runner as Ballmer's replacement beating out a field of talented external candidates that included Ford Motors CEO Alan Mulally, Qualcomm CEO-elect Steve Mollenkopf and Ericsson AB CEO Hans Vestberg. Nadella is the cloud guru within Microsoft and has been very successful over the past few years. In his first letter to Microsoft employees, Nadella who loves poetry and literature, quoted his favorite writer Oscar Wilde saying; "We need to believe in the impossible and remove the improbable". Nadella who says he is defined by curiosity and thirst for learning says he joined Microsoft to change the world through technology that empowers people to do amazing things. He believes that over the next decade computing will become even more ubiquitous and intelligence will become ambient and that such ubiquity and intelligence will come from the growing power of cloud computing and connected devices. Hes an enterprise guy, analyst Mark Moerdler, of Bernstein Research told MarketWatch. The real opportunity for Microsoft is in that they are moving to more cloud and subscription services. And heres a guy who does that. There will be more focus on the cloud and subscription story, Moerdler told MarketWatch. How many cloud vendors are growing by 107 percent? Theres only one, and thats Microsoft. One of the main catalysts behind Microsoft's great second quarter is its cloud services divi-
sion. When Microsoft reported its fiscal secondquarter results on January 23, 2014 it said its commercial cloud services grew revenue by 107 percent to $609 from a year ago. Nadella and his old team delivered Cloud OS, Microsofts next generation backend platform that not only powers all of Microsofts Internet scale cloud services (including O365, Bing, SkyDrive, Xbox Live, Skype and Dynamics) but also offers businesses everywhere products that make up the Cloud OS, including Windows Azure, Windows Server, SQL Server, Visual Studio and System Center. According to Gartner, the market for corporate cloud services will grow 45 percent to $13 billion in 2014 from $9 billion in 2013. Previously, Nadella was president of Microsofts $19 billion Server and Tools Business and led the transformation of the business and technology from client-server software to cloud infrastructure and services. Cricket loving Nadella educated in India Nadella says that growing up in Hyderabad, cricket was his passion and he took his role in the school cricket team very seriously. Nadella still loves watching Test cricket. "I love it! There are so many subplots in it, it's like reading a Russian novel," says Nadella. Nadella has degrees in electrical engineering, computer science and business, covering all the bases to build devices and software services. Nadella earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from India and graduated from Mangalore University and the Manipal Institute of Technology. He also has a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and a masters degree in business administration from the University of Chicago.
Cricket loving Nadella has many challenges at Microsoft, but will have Gates by his side
Uttara Choudhury, Feb 5, 2014
ew York: Charismatic Hyderabad-born Satya Nadella was named on Tuesday as the CEO of $78 billion tech giant Microsoft. He will replace Steve Ballmer, becoming the third CEO of the world's largest software maker which fueled the PC revolution but is now trying to play catch-up in a market exploding with mobile devices. The change of guard comes as Microsoft faces gradual erosion in its traditional PC-centric Windows and Office businesses. It is hoping to realize its mobile ambitions with the takeover of Finnish handset maker Nokia. Nadella of course inherits the challenge of integrating Nokias phone business into the company. In what will resound with Indians anywhere in the world, Nadella attributed his meteoric rise in the corporate world to being fixated with Indias national pastime. "I think playing cricket taught me more about working in teams and leadership that has stayed with me throughout my career," Nadella said after he was named CEO of Microsoft. Nadella ascends as co-founder Bill Gates returns to a far more central role at Microsoft. Gates is stepping down as chairman, and assuming a new role as Technology Advisor, which will substantially increase his time at the company. Gates said he would devote up to a third of his time which is now largely devoted to philanthropic activities to help Nadella craft Microsoft's product strategy as Microsoft tries to tap the booming market for mobile devices. His return raises questions as to how free a hand Mr Nadella will have in setting his own strategy as the company responds to an array of business challenges. Mr Gates, while known for his technical expertise, is also linked to past Microsoft product stumbles and has little track record in areas such as smartphones, which are critical to the company's future, noted The
Wall Street Journal. People who have worked in or around Microsoft generally said it was sensible to put Mr Gates in a role that plays to his strengths as a technologist, but they also wondered whether the company's founder would be able to let other executives' decisions overrule him, added the Journal.
Nadella, who is a 22-year Microsoft veteran and cloud guru, is well suited to the services portion of Microsofts recent realignment towards devices and services, but he is not as comfortable with the devices side of the business. Analysts say Nadella will presumably be bolstered by Gates return to active duty. Microsoft said Nadella, 47, had asked Gates to step into the advisory role. "I'm thrilled that Satya asked me to step up," Gates said in a video posted Tuesday. But the Journal reported that people close to the company believe the arrangement was also nudged forward by Gates, who had already stepped up activities at the company since Ballmer announced plans to step down in August. At any rate, Gates won't play a day-to-day management role which will fall squarely on Nadella.
Changing the world through technology Nadella who joined Microsoft in 1992, earlier headed Microsofts Cloud and Enterprise group, responsible for building and running the companys computing platforms, developer tools and cloud services. He jumped forward as the front runner as Ballmer's replacement beating out a field of talented external candidates that included Ford Motors CEO Alan Mulally, Qualcomm CEO-elect Steve Mollenkopf and Ericsson AB CEO Hans Vestberg. Nadella is the cloud guru within Microsoft and has been very successful over the past few years. In his first letter to Microsoft employees, Nadella who loves poetry and literature, quoted his favorite writer Oscar Wilde saying; "We need to believe in the impossible and remove the improbable". Nadella who is defined by curiosity and thirst for learning says he joined Microsoft to change the world through technology that empowers people to do amazing things. He believes that over the next decade computing will become even more ubiquitous and intelligence will become ambient and that such ubiquity and intelligence will come from the growing power of cloud computing and connected devices. Hes an enterprise guy, analyst Mark Moerdler, of Bernstein Research told MarketWatch. The real opportunity for Microsoft is in that they are moving to more cloud and subscription services. And heres a guy who does that. There will be more focus on the cloud and subscription story, Moerdler told MarketWatch. How many cloud vendors are growing by 107 percent? Theres only one, and thats Microsoft. One of the main catalysts behind Microsoft's great second quarter is its cloud services divi-
sion. When Microsoft reported its fiscal secondquarter results on January 23, 2014 it said its commercial cloud services grew revenue by 107 percent to $609 from a year ago. Nadella and his old team delivered Cloud OS, Microsofts next generation backend platform that not only powers all of Microsofts Internet scale cloud services (including O365, Bing, SkyDrive, Xbox Live, Skype and Dynamics) but also offers businesses everywhere products that make up the Cloud OS, including Windows Azure, Windows Server, SQL Server, Visual Studio and System Center. According to Gartner, the market for corporate cloud services will grow 45 percent to $13 billion in 2014 from $9 billion in 2013. Previously, Nadella was president of Microsofts $19 billion Server and Tools Business and led the transformation of the business and technology from client-server software to cloud infrastructure and services. Cricket loving Nadella educated in India Nadella says that growing up in Hyderabad, cricket was his passion and he took his role in the school cricket team very seriously. Nadella still loves watching Test cricket. "I love it! There are so many subplots in it, it's like reading a Russian novel," says Nadella. Nadella has degrees in electrical engineering, computer science and business, covering all the bases to build devices and software services. Nadella earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from India and graduated from Mangalore University and the Manipal Institute of Technology. He also has a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and a masters degree in business administration from the University of Chicago.
Nadella and the future of Microsoft
Here are 5 problems that Satya Nadella
will have to solve at Microsoft

Firstbiz Staff, Feb 5, 2014
ndia is cheering the appointment of a fellow-Indian as Microsoft CEO and there are a slew of views on the man himself but beyond the gushing headlines, it's also a fact that Microsoft isn't at the top of its game. The reason Steve Ballmer had to exit as CEO was to get in new blood who could possibly turn things around for Microsoft. And now, using an illustration from a game he claims to love, as Nadella walks in to bat, here are five problems he'll need to solve while at the crease:
interest is key if apps are to come to Windows Phone and a big name like Instagram once in a while isn't enough to attract customers. The other smartphone player in the dumps, BlackBerry, has pretty much thrown in the towel on going completely independent as an app platform, and its latest 10.2.1 release offers users the ability to directly download Android apps from a BlackBerry 10 smartphone and use them. It doesn't help that Nokia's integration with Microsoft is nowhere close to complete and falling profitability is threatening to pull down the software giant's along with it. Nadella will have his hands full ensuring that the two firms not only integrate but also manage to yield results. Can Nadella reverse the ground lost while Ballmer was in charge? Image courtesy: MicrosoftCan Nadella reverse the ground lost while Ballmer was in charge? Image courtesy: Microsoft Those damn Windows tiles Microsoft revamped the way Windows looked in Windows 8, with the universal tile interface called Metro across all devices, only to howls of protest from consumers who have struggled with it and are searching for the familiar, though clunky Windows interface. Windows 8 actually managed to make things worse. BBC quotes Chris Green, principal technology analyst at the consultancy Davies Murphy Group, saying that apart from consumers struggling to use it, most core business consumers aren't upgrading to it. Many companies are preferring to wait with their previous editions of Windows to see the next version of the operating system. It doesn't help that many (around 30 percent) still have machines running Windows XP and the software giant plans to do away with support for it in April.
Nokia and Windows phones Microsoft shelled out $7.2 billion to acquire Nokia's handset business but Windows phones have a long way to go when it comes to competing against Apple and Google powered phones. Techcrunch in a detailed article on the challenges facing Nadella points out that despite a great 2013, the last quarter saw sales slump. The problem is that even at its best, Windows Phone's meagre few percentage points up in marketshare isn't going to help unseat the smartphone market's reigning giants, Google and Apple. Worse, last quarter's falling sales threaten to hit developer interest which in turn could hit the sale of Windows phones further. Developer
Microsoft is already reportedly planning to do away with the much maligned tile interface in a version of Windows 8, but Nadella will need to ensure that the OS remains popular, in an era where the PC form factor is losing appeal. Falling PC and corporate spending In its article Techcrunch points out that PC sales have been on the decline, which has been hitting Microsoft, and the company would also need to hope that business climate doesn't get any worse. "Worse-than-expected PC sales would also harm OEM revenues for Microsoft, both from consumers and enterprises," the article notes. Nadella wouldn't really be able to ensure PC sales, which have been on a constant decline, improve, he can perhaps work towards ensuring that Windows has wider acceptability across devices to make up for it. The Cloud Nadella's claim to fame has been the boost he's given to Microsoft's cloud services but a big challenge still remains in bringing out new products that will compete with existing products and they all need to do well. In the last quarter cloud revenues brought smiles to Microsoft investors and any slip-up will mean
that investors will seek Nadella's head, even as revenues from Windows are falling and where Microsoft is spending more money on hardware than it makes. BBC points out that Windows Azure is still targetted at businesses and Microsoft may take on Google with something similar to the ChromeOS and could also take on consumer cloud storage services like Dropbox with its revamped OneDrive. Techcrunch fears Microsoft could drop the ball with Nadella's attentions drawn to the various other problems confronting the company and the new Microsoft CEO will be hoping to ensure that he proves them wrong. Ensuring talent stays on at Microsoft While almost everyone in hindsight believes that Steve Ballmer wasn't really the best man to lead Microsoft, Nadella will need to show that he has the vision to develop products that are ahead of the curve. It doesn't help that the software giant has been bleeding senior level executives and Nadella, who is seen as a amiable team leader, will need to ensure he manages to hold on to senior executives with a vision for the company and hire new talent to replace those who have vacated their seats.
thats the big Microsoft story

Three members of the crew, including the director, cameraman and associate director, had visited the mall barely an hour before the attacks.
Firstbiz Staff, Feb 5, 2014 he big story in Satya Nadella being announced as Microsoft CEO isn't the appointment, but that Bill Gates is back. The official Microsoft press release said that Gates, previously Chairman of the Microsoft Board of Directors, would assume a new role on the Board as Founder and Technology Advisor, and would devote more time to the company, supporting Nadella in shaping technology and product direction. Bloomberg says that Gates is "poised to remain involved at the company he co-founded in an area of its deepest need: crafting must-have products," and goes on to add that he might be working at Microsoft at least one day a week.
Bill Gates is back and
However, that is not exactly welcome news for any Microsoft watchers who believe that whether deliberate or not, Steve Ballmer, the man Nadella replaces, had a Bill Gates-sized chip on his shoulder and that may have driven him to make a few bad decisions. Others have even labelled Ballmer the worst CEO of a large publicly traded American company , explaining that Microsoft is a PC company, which it was when Ballmer took over from Bill Gates and remains a PC company as demand for PCs shifts to mobile. Of course, Ballmer went ahead and purchased Nokia after he said he would be stepping down as CEO, but there's a long way to go for that
deal to be termed even a moderate success for Microsoft. Gates remains a huge rallying point for Microsoft's troops, notwithstanding the fact that he was a pioneer in a different era when PCs ruled and where mobile phones had the same functionality of a desk phone, with the exception of mobility and tablets existed on science fiction books and movies. Gates was certainly a visionary--many would not be aware that Microsoft released its first smartphone OS in 2002 and specifications for the Microsoft Tablet PC, a tablet powered by Windows XP Tablet PC edition in 2001, and OEMs launched these tablets in 2002. Only, they all flopped and they were very expensive. Apple released the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad in 2010 but in the case of the tablet, Steve Jobs thought about what users would like to do with a tablet and then designed hardware for that. And Apple's iPads were far cheaper. And the really great part was software designed for a mobile device as opposed to installing nearly the same version of a PC operating system on a tablet. As long time technology journalist Mike Elgan points out , "Gates' business successes while he ruled Microsoft were at least as attributable
to total engagement, incredibly hard work and blind luck as they were to Gates vision or genius." Elgan goes on to list the opportunities Gates missed, which includes search engines and browsers and the complex mess that Windows became with confusing interfaces, gigantic bloopers like Vista, explaining that Gates had a blind spot for understanding people -- customers, users, markets and culture -- and this led to Gates making these bad decisions. Nadella, a Microsoft veteran with 22 years of work with the technology giant may find it easier to operate with Gates because he is seen as a CEO who will continue with the overall One Microsoft vision set out by Ballmer with Gates' blessings as Chairman. Unlike Ballmer who is known to be extremely aggressive, Nadella may not even suffer from Ballmers need to make his mark on history as Gates did and end up making some huge mistakes in the bargain, but despite that, having Bill Gates around may turn out to be a millstone around his neck. In a line, Satya Nadella might want Bill Gates to be around to teach him the ropes of being CEO, but he may soon discover that it may lead to him walking a scary tightrope walk of a kind he has never walked before.
Believe in the impossible: Satya Nadellas memo to Microsoft

AP, Feb 5, 2014
icrosoft named Satya Nadella as Microsoft's CEO on Tuesday, replacing Steve Ballmer immediately. Ballmer had announced in August that he was planning to step down within a year. Here's the memo Nadella sent to employees Tuesday:
gry to do more. Our industry does not respect tradition it only respects innovation. This is a critical time for the industry and for Microsoft. Make no mistake, we are headed for greater places as technology evolves and we evolve with and ahead of it. Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world. "As we start a new phase of our journey together, I wanted to share some background on myself and what inspires and motivates me. "Who am I? "I am 46. I've been married for 22 years and we have 3 kids. And like anyone else, a lot of what I do and how I think has been shaped by my family and my overall life experiences. Many who know me say I am also defined by my curiosity and thirst for learning. I buy more books than I can finish. I sign up for more online courses than I can complete. I fundamentally believe that if you are not learning new things, you stop doing great and useful things. So family, curiosity and hunger for knowledge all define me. "Why am I here? "I am here for the same reason I think most people join Microsoft to change the world through technology that empowers people to do amazing things. I know it can sound hyperbolic and yet it's true. We have done it, we're doing it today, and we are the team that will do it again. "I believe over the next decade computing will become even more ubiquitous and intelligence will become ambient. The coevolution of software and new hardware form factors will intermediate and digitize many of the things we do and experience in business, life and our world. This will be made possible by an evergrowing network of connected devices, incredible computing capacity from the cloud, insights
"Today is a very humbling day for me. It reminds me of my very first day at Microsoft, 22 years ago. Like you, I had a choice about where to come to work. I came here because I believed Microsoft was the best company in the world. I saw then how clearly we empower people to do magical things with our creations and ultimately make the world a better place. I knew there was no better company to join if I wanted to make a difference. This is the very same inspiration that continues to drive me today. "It is an incredible honor for me to lead and serve this great company of ours. Steve and Bill have taken it from an idea to one of the greatest and most universally admired companies in the world. I've been fortunate to work closely with both Bill and Steve in my different roles at Microsoft, and as I step in as CEO, I've asked Bill to devote additional time to the company, focused on technology and products. I'm also looking forward to working with John Thompson as our new Chairman of the Board. "While we have seen great success, we are hun-
from big data, and intelligence from machine learning. "This is a software-powered world. "It will better connect us to our friends and families and help us see, express, and share our world in ways never before possible. It will enable businesses to engage customers in more meaningful ways. "I am here because we have unparalleled capability to make an impact. "Why are we here? "In our early history, our mission was about the PC on every desk and home, a goal we have mostly achieved in the developed world. Today we're focused on a broader range of devices. While the deal is not yet complete, we will welcome to our family Nokia devices and services and the new mobile capabilities they bring us. "As we look forward, we must zero in on what Microsoft can uniquely contribute to the world. The opportunity ahead will require us to reimagine a lot of what we have done in the past for a mobile and cloud-first world, and do new things. "We are the only ones who can harness the power of software and deliver it through devices and services that truly empower every individual and every organization. We are the only company with history and continued focus in building platforms and ecosystems that create broad opportunity. "Qi Lu captured it well in a recent meeting when he said that Microsoft uniquely empowers people to "do more." This doesn't mean that we need to do more things, but that the work we do empowers the world to do more of what they care about get stuff done, have fun, communicate and accomplish great things. This is the
core of who we are, and driving this core value in all that we do be it the cloud or device experiences is why we are here. "What do we do next? "To paraphrase a quote from Oscar Wilde we need to believe in the impossible and remove the improbable. "This starts with clarity of purpose and sense of mission that will lead us to imagine the impossible and deliver it. We need to prioritize innovation that is centered on our core value of empowering users and organizations to "do more." We have picked a set of high-value activities as part of our One Microsoft strategy. And with every service and device launch going forward we need to bring more innovation to bear around these scenarios. "Next, every one of us needs to do our best work, lead and help drive cultural change. We sometimes underestimate what we each can do to make things happen and overestimate what others need to do to move us forward. We must change this. "Finally, I truly believe that each of us must find meaning in our work. The best work happens when you know that it's not just work, but something that will improve other people's lives. This is the opportunity that drives each of us at this company. "Many companies aspire to change the world. But very few have all the elements required: talent, resources, and perseverance. Microsoft has proven that it has all three in abundance. And as the new CEO, I can't ask for a better foundation. "Let's build on this foundation together. "Satya"
A numbers guy shouldnt be Microsoft CEO:
What US media had to say about Nadella

Firstbiz Staff, September 24, 2013 wanted." - Los Angeles Times on Nadella being a 'soft' choice. "Satya Nadella's Microsoft isn't going to look like Steve Ballmer's, and that's a good thing. Hopefully, a tighter focus on integrated platforms will help solve some of the company's stumbles in consumer software." - PC Mag on Nadella's possible focuses at Microsoft, including the consumer business and platforms.
fter news broke last night of Satya Nadella being confirmed as Microsoft's new CEO, here's a look at what the American media has to say about the Hyderbadborn, cricket-loving Indian.
"Nadellas journey to Microsofts top post moved along the same path furrowed by thousands of other Indians a hypercompetitive college education in India (though his university was only a midranking one), followed by graduate studies in the U.S. and a berth in Silicon Valley. But the application, the ingenuity, the business savvy and the drive that saw him excel were all his own." - TIME Magazine on Nadella's appointment being another feather in the cap of the Indian-American community. "Of all the questions that Satya Nadella, Microsofts new chief executive officer, will face, the most pressing one may well revolve around deciding whether or not Microsoft still wants to be an arbiter of technology." - Bloomberg Businessweek on what Nadella must do to make Microsoft more like Google. "By selecting an insider after a search that lasted more than five months, the company signaled that it likely won't pursue the kind of radical makeover that some on Wall Street had
"In choosing Nadella, the executive vice president of Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise group, Microsoft has turned to a highly accomplished executive in the mold of its co-founder Gates, who reportedly held out for a candidate with sufficient technical gravitas to inspire -- and if need be, change -- Microsoft's engineer-driven corporate culture. It also confounded the early handicapping in the CEO vetting process that the board needed to land an outside candidate to shake things up." - CNET on why Nadella was the final choice. "Mr. Nadella is known as a cerebral, collaborative leader with a low-key style that differs from Mr. Ballmers bombastic manner. While many executives within Microsoft tend to be polarizing figures, Mr. Nadella appears to be well liked in much of the company. Still, those who know Satya Nadella say that he is not a pushover as a boss." - The New York Times on Nadella's image at Microsoft. "While a company like Microsoft does need its numbers guys, a numbers guy shouldnt be the CEO of a company like Microsoft. That office and executive parking space belongs to someone who knows tech and tech trends and has the technical background and mind to make things happen without going to committee." - Forbes on why a tech company should have a leader with a tech background.
old leaders can rekindle magic

Reuters, Feb 5, 2014 eattle: Microsoft Corp is betting a mix of old and young blood will revive the aging technology pioneer, but new Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella may find it tough to push change with co-founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer breathing down his neck.
Microsoft hopes new,
fessor and former Medtronic Inc CEO. "The big question I have is, is Satya really going to be allowed to make the transformative changes that Microsoft needs to make, both at the product level and at the people level?" Microsoft shares closed 0.4 percent lower at $36.35 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday. The new Microsoft focuses on "devices and services" rather than licensing software, and seeks to emulate Apple's success in marrying popular online services with attractive gadgets. Set by the retiring Ballmer last year, that vision has proven unpopular with investors hoping either that Microsoft will stop ploughing billions into mobile devices - as it is doing with its Nokia acquisition - or come up with new products to take on mobile leaders Apple Inc and Google Inc. "From a bigger-picture perspective, I don't think much is going to change," said Sid Parakh, an analyst at fund firm McAdams Wright Ragen. "The strategy that was put in place in 2013 is where the company is headed." On Tuesday, Gates - who may become once more a regular sight around Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, campus after pledging to spend a third of his time as the new CEO's adviser - stressed that Nadella's cloud computing expertise qualified him to lead Microsoft into the new arena of mobile computing. "Satya's got the right background to lead the company during this era," he said. "There's a challenge in mobile computing. There's an opportunity in the cloud." PROS, CONS The online element may play to the strengths of Nadella, who led the creation of Microsoft's
The 46-year-old India native and former enterprise business chief takes on the monumental task of exploring new directions - but with Gates as his consigliere, and on a strategy that Ballmer orchestrated with the board. That uphill endeavor helped sour other candidates on the job, including proven change agent Alan Mulally at Ford Motor Co , sources have said. Gates is giving up the board chairmanship to fellow director John Thompson. That, plus Nadella's promotion, marks a changing of the guard at a 39-year-old company that fueled the PC revolution, but is struggling with its longerterm identity after missing the boat on the mobile computing revolution. "You've got a triumvirate running the company: Satya as the new CEO, Bill as the product adviser and John Thompson running the board. A lot depends on how the three of them get along," said Bill George, Harvard Business School pro-
Internet or cloud services. Nadella has pushed the company in the direction of an Internet-based future, using its network of vast datacenters to host products such as Office 365, a subscription-based online version of its ubiquitous business software. He "bashed heads together on the product teams to get them to support cloud deployment in a consistent way," said Ted Schadler, an analyst at tech research firm Forrester. "Every software company has to engineer this shift to software as a service, because 10 years from now there'll be no such thing as a licensed piece of software." Nadella is only its third CEO in 39 years, taking over from Ballmer, who inherited the job from Gates in 2000. His appointment ends a fivemonth search process triggered by the August announcement of Ballmer's decision to retire. That was longer than many investors had expected. "It's a relief this process is over," said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. "Many investors view it as the 'safe pick' as Mr. Nadella is a born-and-bred Redmond insider. But the uphill battle continues for Microsoft on its path to growth." The move is also a significant shift for Gates, who along with Apple's Steve Jobs was one of the key forces who shaped the personal computer revolution of the late 20th century, making him an icon of the new information economy and the world's richest person in the process. Gates, 58, left day-to-day work at Microsoft in 2008 to focus on philanthropy at his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which he says is still his main job. He owns 4.3 percent of Microsoft's outstanding shares. "Satya's asked me to step up, substantially increasing the time that I spend at the company,"
Gates said in a video statement. "I'll have over a third of my time available to meet with product groups. It'll be fun to define this next round of products, working together." Nadella, who describes himself as a cricket and poetry lover, called the appointment "humbling" in an email to employees. In a videotaped statement, he said he would focus on "ruthlessly" removing any obstacles to innovation. Apart from Ford Motor's Mulally, Nadella also beat out other candidates for the job. Several were close to the company, like Stephen Elop, set to rejoin Microsoft when its acquisition of Nokia's handset business closes, and Tony Bates, the former Skype boss now in charge of business development. Most agree that Nadella's background makes him a safe pair of hands to take the company forward, but there remains a question over his ability to make Microsoft a hit with consumers or with impatient shareholders. Even as Microsoft faces a slow erosion of its PCcentric Windows and Office franchises, some investors are campaigning for retrenchment and a bigger cut of the company's cash pile. ValueAct Capital, which led a shareholder revolt last year that culminated in Ballmer's retirement, has pushed for the company to abandon ambitions to be a hardware maker, focus on its strengths with business software and return more capital. That means refocusing on Office and Windows and distributing more of Microsoft's $84 billion in cash and short-term investments, though most of that is held overseas. Nadella's immediate task may be to balance the demands of long- and short-term investors. "That's a balance that John Thompson is going to provide," said Parakh.
Four decades, three CEOs

Reuters, Feb 5, 2014 an Francisco: Satya Nadella's elevation to CEO and co-founder Bill Gates' decision to relinquish his chairmanship at Microsoft Corp marks a changing of the guard at a 39-year-old company that fueled the PC revolution but is now struggling to establish its longterm identity.
Microsofts journey:
1983 - Microsoft announces its new software "Windows," which aims to enhance the MSDOS interface with visual features. 1985 - After spending two years in development, "Windows 1.0" begins to ship. Moving on from MS-DOS commands, which some users found challenging to master, the system used simple clicks of a mouse to work through tasks on screens or "windows." 1986 - Microsoft moves its corporate headquarters to Redmond, Washington. It goes public at $21 per share and raises about $60 million. 1988 - With the arrival of Windows 2.0 in 1987, computers start becoming more commonplace in the office. Microsoft becomes the largest PC software company based on global sales. 1990 to 1995 - Windows 3.0 is launched in 1990 and five years later, Windows 95 is released and sales surpass 1 million copies in four days. PC sales begin to explode as computers make their way into homes, schools and business, kicking off the "Windows era." 1995 - With the advent of the Internet, Microsoft introduces its Web browser "Internet Explorer." 1998 - Windows 98, the first consumer-focused version of Windows, is released. That same year, the U.S. Department of Justice files antitrust charges against Microsoft relating to bundling of its programs into its operating systems. U.S. regulators accuse the company of using its dominance in software and monopolistic practices to drive competitors out of business. 2000 - Ballmer succeeds Gates as CEO in January. The two met as students at Harvard, when Gates lived down the hall from Ballmer. 2001 - Microsoft reaches a settlement with the
Here are some highlights in the four-decade journey of the world's largest software maker: 1975 - A 19-year-old Gates drops out of Harvard University and goes on to found Microsoft with childhood friend Paul Allen. They make their first product - a BASIC programming code interpreter for the Altair 8800 microcomputer. 1979 - With sales topping $1 million at the end of 1978, the company moves to Bellevue, Washington, from Albuquerque, New Mexico. 1980 - In June, Gates recruits former Harvard classmate Steve Ballmer to become the company's first business manager. 1981 - In August, Microsoft releases its new operating software Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS). It begins running on IBM personal computers - a seminal moment for the company's future domination of personal computing systems.
Department of Justice in the 1998 antitrust case. In November, Microsoft enters the gaming market with the North American release of its Xbox gaming console. 2005 - The next-generation Xbox 360 goes on sale in November. 2006 - Microsoft launches the Zune portable music player in November, the first Microsoftdesigned device to compete in a market dominated by Apple Inc's iPod. The music player fails to take off and Microsoft discontinues it by mid-2012. 2007 - In January, Microsoft unveils the widely panned Windows Vista, the company's leastpopular operating system. 2009 - Microsoft revamps its search engine to counter Google's dominance in Web search and advertising. In May, Ballmer reveals the new engine, dubbed "Bing." It remains a distant runner-up to Google today.
2010 - Microsoft releases its Windows Phone operating system for mobiles, trying to woo consumers away from Apple's iPhone and Google Inc's Android devices. The Windows ecosystem remains a distant third to Apple's iOS and Google's Android. 2012 - Microsoft, hoping for a hit, launches Surface tablets and a Windows 8 operating system that uses touch commands. The devices have not gained much share in a tablet market dominated by Apple's iPad, Amazon Inc's Kindle and Samsung devices. 2013 - On August 23, Ballmer announces he will step down within 12 months, surprising industry-watchers. February 4, 2014 - Microsoft's board unanimously picks Nadella, 46, an Indian-born executive who led the creation of Microsoft's Internet-based or "cloud" computing services. He is only the company's third CEO in 39 years.
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