Satya Nadella is now officially named the CEO of Microsoft
Microsoft on Tuesday named company veteran Satya Nadella as the next chief
executive, ending a six-month long search to find a replacement for
Steve Ballmer. In a rallying letter to employees, Nadella -- only the third CEO
in the company's history -- called on Microsoft to "prioritize
innovation" and "help drive cultural change."
Read
Nadella's full letter to employees below.
From:
Satya Nadella
To: All Employees
Date: Feb. 4, 2014
Subject: RE: Satya
Nadella - Microsoft's New CEO
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 hungry 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 ever-growing
network of connected devices, incredible computing capacity from the cloud,
insights 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
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