Highlights:
- Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, have an additional role as a chairman in which he will lead the work to set the agenda for the board.
- Microsoft has recovered from failures in the mobile phone and internet search markets under Nadella’s leadership.
- Nadella, who is Indian born, succeeded Steve Ballmer as CEO of Microsoft in 2014.
Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, has been named chairman of the board of directors on Wednesday, solidifying his hold on the pioneering US technology giant he revived for a new age.
According to a statement from the company, Nadella was unanimously elected to lead the Microsoft board of directors, where he will “apply his extensive understanding of the business to elevate the right strategic opportunities and identify key risks.”
In a new tech world headed by mobile-focused rivals such as Apple and Google, Nadella, who took over from Steve Ballmer in February 2014, has made Microsoft more relevant.
When Nadella took over as CEO of Microsoft, some speculated that the company was on the verge of becoming dead.
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Nadella is credited with giving the company a new energy which was founded in 1975 and had previously focused on packaged software for personal computers.
Nadella ordered a huge reorganisation early in his tenure, slashing 18,000 jobs — or 14% of the workforce — as part of a plan to simplify the organisational structure and integrate Nokia’s mobile division.
Cloud computing has become a lucrative growth engine at the IT giant based in the Washington state city of Redmond, and Nadella, 53, has made it a priority.
Microsoft is set to release a new version of its Windows operating system next week, which is said to power about three-quarters of the world’s desktop computers.
Microsoft’s empire was based on software like Windows and Office, which was licenced to computer manufacturers or sold in bundles for installation on machines in homes and offices.
Microsoft has increased its focus on renting software and services hosted at datacentres in the computing cloud under Nadella, strengthening its Azure platform.
The rise of smartphones and tablets rocked the personal computer era, but it witnessed a resurgence during the pandemic as people set up their homes for remote work, school, and play.
Microsoft’s board of directors also declared a 56-cent quarterly dividend, which will be paid out in September.
