Satya Nadella is chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. Microsoft's board named him CEO on 4 February 2014, and he took on the chairman's role in 2021.123
He had worked at the company since 1992. Before the top job he moved through search, online services and servers, and Microsoft says he led its shift to cloud infrastructure and services.12
Thirty-two years inside one company
Nadella studied electrical engineering at Mangalore University, then took a master's in computer science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an MBA at the University of Chicago. He joined Microsoft in 1992.1
From 2008 he was senior vice president for Search, Portal, and Advertising, and from 2009 he ran the Online Services Division. In 2011 he became president of Server and Tools, and by the time he was named CEO he was executive vice president of the Cloud and Enterprise group.12
A cloud-first company
At the press briefing after his appointment he described Microsoft's world as "a mobile-first, cloud-first world". Microsoft's board announcement said the cloud infrastructure he built supported Bing, Xbox, Office and other services.38
Two years later at Ignite he said: "There isn’t a single industry that isn’t being transformed". The mission he gave the company was "to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more".6
Purpose and pride, not combativeness
Nadella describes his leadership style in plain terms. "My approach is to lead with a sense of purpose and pride in what we do, not envy or combativeness."7
He has also tied the mission to accessibility, saying technology could enable more people to participate in society. Microsoft's own profile notes that his career spans both enterprise and consumer businesses.16
Pay, and a security reckoning
Microsoft's 2025 proxy reports his total compensation at $96,496,790. That is a $2.5 million base salary plus $84,245,496 in stock awards, with the rest in other pay. Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.4 billion on 10 September 2026.29
In July 2023 Microsoft said a threat actor it calls Storm-0558 had gained access to email accounts affecting approximately 25 organisations in the public cloud. The company said it had completed mitigation for all customers. In May 2024 Nadella shared an internal email on putting security first, saying the severity of the threats facing the company and its customers, and its responsibility to defend them, were behind the push.45
Nadella also testified in the Federal Trade Commission's proceeding over Microsoft's Activision deal, according to the FTC's pre-trial brief.10
Nadella, year by year
Joined Microsoft1
Became senior vice president for Search, Portal, and Advertising2
Became senior vice president of the Online Services Division2
Became president of the Server and Tools business2
Moved to lead Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise group as executive vice president1
Appointed CEO and a member of the board, effective 4 February13
Became chairman as well as CEO2
Microsoft disclosed that Storm-0558 had accessed email accounts at about 25 organisations4
Shared an internal email on putting security above all else5
Microsoft's proxy reported his total compensation as $96,496,7902
Questions people ask about Satya Nadella
Who is Satya Nadella?
He is chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft.1
When did Satya Nadella become CEO of Microsoft?
Microsoft's board appointed him CEO in February 2014, effective 4 February. He became chairman in 2021.123
Where did Satya Nadella study?
He has an electrical engineering degree from Mangalore University, a master's in computer science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an MBA from the University of Chicago.1
What was Satya Nadella's job before he became CEO?
He was executive vice president of Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise group. Before that he was president of Server and Tools from 2011 to 2013.12
What is Satya Nadella's net worth?
Forbes estimated it at $1.4 billion on 10 September 2026.9
Satya Nadella on Kenning
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Microsoft on Kenning
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Copilot Cowork
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Microsoft Agent 365
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Sources
- Microsoft executive bionews.microsoft.com · primary
- SEC EDGAR (Microsoft 2025 proxy, DEF 14A)sec.gov · primary · 21 October 2025
- Microsoft announcementnews.microsoft.com · primary · 4 February 2014
- Microsoft Security Response Centermicrosoft.com · primary · 11 July 2023
- Microsoft official blogblogs.microsoft.com · primary · 3 May 2024
- Microsoft Ignite transcript/reportnews.microsoft.com · primary · 29 September 2016
- Microsoft Innovation Storiesnews.microsoft.com · primary · 29 January 2019
- Microsoft press briefing transcriptnews.microsoft.com · primary · 11 November 2014
- Forbes profileforbes.com · secondary · 10 September 2026
- U.S. Federal Trade Commission pre-trial briefftc.gov · primary · 2 October 2023
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