You must meet Satya Nadella to know him. That may not exactly be possible, but listening to those who grew up and worked with him gives you an idea.
He brings that human element to conversations and all other things can wait. His friends and colleagues vividly recall this attribute of Satya the moment you ask them about their friend who has made it big.
A “quiet guy” throughout his academics, the 46-year-old Manipal Institute of Technology graduate was an all-rounder in sports with a special liking for cricket.
His elevation marks the beginning of a new era not just in the annals of Microsoft but also in the way multinational IT giants will manage their affairs. For Microsoft, it is going to be the biggest bet as it faces some tough challenges from digital media companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter. His appointment as the CEO of a company also shows the importance of the South. It goes a long way in making US lawmakers realise that India is more than a cost centre for its outsourcing needs. The shift is significant for the IT giant, considered a religion when it comes to information technology. He is the company’s first non-American CEO.
Tough decision
Satya is at the helm not by accident. It was a tough decision for Microsoft, which mulled for over a year to pick the right candidate. As an insider, Satya knows Microsoft rather well. He joined the company in 1992, when several of the new kids on the block — Google, Facebook, Yahoo! and Twitter — were not yet born.
He was part of the firm even as it weathered several technological and legal storms that threatened to challenge its supremacy. It faced those challenges with minor bruises, as the internet boom came and went. Even as Google engulfed the web with its search engine, Microsoft appointed him as Chief of Online Services and R&D. He said he was not afraid of Google and was trying to position Bing, Microsoft’s own search engine, as a destination engine. But then, he knew the impending danger. He dreamed of a search engine that did not just throw up vague results but could help people in taking informed decisions.