On Tuesday, tech giant Microsoft announced that Satya Nadella will be the company’s third CEO. Bill Gates, who founded Microsoft, will also be stepping down as chairman.
Nadella, 46, was born in Hyderabad, India and has been with the company for 22 years as an engineering executive. Last week, it was reported that he would likely be the pick to replace Steve Ballmer, who announced plans to retire in August.
“During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella,” Gates, who will stay on as technical advisor and as a member of the board, said, reports The New York Times. “Satya is a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, business vision and the ability to bring people together.”
Companies “aspire to change the world,” Nadella said in a statement. “But very few have all the elements required: talent, resources and perseverance. Microsoft has proven that it has all three in abundance.”
He noted that the tech world doesn’t respect tradition, but innovation. “The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast, but to seize it, we must move faster, focus and continue to transform,” he said. “I see a big part of my job as accelerating our ability to bring innovative products to our customers more quickly.”
Bloomberg reported that Gates is likely to have a more hands-on role than he has in recent years, trying to help craft new products for the company. Microsoft has had to struggle to keep up with Google, Facebook and Apple, which have all produced innovative products and apps, while Microsoft’s new products seem to fail to connect with consumers.
image: Microsoft