Satya Nadella email to employees on first day as CEO
Feb. 04, 2014in
From: Satya Nadella
To: All Employees
Date: Feb. 4, 2014
Subject: RE: Satya Nadella – Microsoft’s New CEO
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
Satya Narayana Nadella is the chief executive officer of Microsoft. He was appointed CEO on 4 February 2014, succeeding Steve Ballmer. Previously, he was executive vice-president of Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise group, responsible for building and running the company's computing platforms, developer tools and cloud services
Early life
Nadella was born in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, in a Telugu family to anIAS officer, B. N. Yugandhar, from Bukkapuram village in Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh. who was a member of the Planning Commission during 2004–2009 under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.Satya attended the Hyderabad Public School in Begumpet before attaining a bachelor of engineering in electronics and communication degree from Manipal Institute of Technology, Mangalore University,Manipal, Karnataka.
After moving to the US, Nadella earned an MS in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Nadella played cricket when younger, and cites it as one of his hobbies today. Nadella has said, "I think playing cricket taught me more about working in teams and leadership that has stayed with me throughout my career."
Nadella said he "always wanted to build things." He knew that computer science was what he wanted to pursue.[19] But that emphasis was not available at university. "And so it [electronic engineering] was a great way for me to go discover what turned out to become a passion," he says.
Career
Nadella worked with Sun Microsystems, as a member of its technology staff, prior to joining Microsoft in 1992.[20][21]
Microsoft
Nadella worked as the senior vice-president of research and development (R&D) for the Online Services Division and vice-president of the Microsoft Business Division. Later, he was made the president of Microsoft's $19 billion Server and Tools Business and led a transformation of the company's business and technology culture from client services to cloud infrastructure and services. He has been credited for helping bring Microsoft's database, Windows Server and developer tools to its Azure cloud. The revenue from Cloud Services grew to $20.3 billion in June 2013 from $16.6 billion when he took over in 2011. Nadella's 2013 base salary is nearly $700,000, for a total compensation, with stock bonuses, of $7.6 million. Satya Nadella played a major role in Microsoft's transition to cloud computing.
Previous positions held by Nadella include:
- President of the Server & Tools (9 February 2011 – February 2014)
- Senior Vice-President of Research and Development for the Online Services Division (March 2007 – February 2011)
- Vice-President of the Business Division
- Corporate Vice-President of Business Solutions and Search & Advertising Platform Group
- Executive Vice-President of Cloud and Enterprise group
On 4 February 2014, Nadella was announced as the new CEO of Microsoft, the third chief executive in the company's history.
Personal life
In 1992, Nadella married Anupama, daughter of his father's IAS batchmate, K.R. Venugopal. They have three children, a son and two daughters, and live in Bellevue, Washington.Nadella is an avid reader of American and Indian poetry, and also lovescricket. The sport was his passion growing up and he had played for his school's cricket team.
10 Things to Know About Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s New CEO
1. He was born in Hyderabad, India. And moved to the U.S. after graduating from Manipal University. That an immigrant will run this most American of companies is an inspiring story in itself.
2. He’s a longtime Microsoft insider. Nadella joined the company in 1992 from onetime Silicon Valley icon Sun Microsystems; he’s been a Microsoftie for well over half the company’s existence.
3. He’s an engineer. Unlike Steve Ballmer, who was an assistant product manager at Procter & Gamble before joining Microsoft in 1980, Nadella started out as a technologist. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Manipal University and a master’s in computer science from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
4. But also a business type. In addition to his technology-oriented degrees, he has a master’s in business administration from the University of Chicago.
5. He’s been promoted again and again. Among his other high-level positions before he was appointed executive vice president for the cloud and enterprise group last year: president of the server and tools business, senior VP of R&D for the online-services division, VP of the business division, senior VP of search, portal and advertising-platform group, VP of development for the business-solutions group, and general manager of consumer and commerce.
6. He’s currently responsible for a huge, largely invisible part of Microsoft’s business. Among the products Nadella heads up: Windows Azure, Windows Server, SQL Server, System Center and the software-development tools that are Microsoft’s original business, dating all the way back to 1975. Consumers have no reason to pay attention to these areas, but they’re thriving — a big reason why Microsoft just posted robust quarterly results despite the PC industry’s struggles and Windows Phone’s failure, so far, to make much of a dent in Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.
7. He’s played a major role in Microsoft’s transition to the cloud. The company’s very name references the era of software for microcomputers. But Nadella is leading its efforts to be just as good at Web-based services as it ever was at PC software — a battle at least as important to the company’s future as anything involving phones or tablets.
8. He does have some consumer background. Though Nadella’s career has skewed toward the business side of Microsoft, he’s also worked on some offerings used by folks in their personal lives, like the Bing search engine.
9. It’s not your imagination — he does have a low profile. Nadella is not exactly a hermit — Quartz’s Leo Mirani interviewed him about Microsoft’s future in December, when Nadella was already known to be a leading CEO candidate — but his focus on unglamorous-but-important products for business use means he shows up at public events less often than colleagues like Joe Belfiore of the Windows Phone team. (Presumably that will now change.) He also seems to have lost interest in Twitter.
10. We don’t know anything about his master plan. The fact that he’s a Microsoft longtimer might indicate he’s less likely to immediately attempt to impose massive change on the company than an outsider would have been. Or maybe not. And his background in business tools may or may not say anything about the company’s interest moving forward in consumer offerings like its Xbox gaming-and-entertainment platform. Stay tuned for more thoughts once Nadella starts to outline his vision for public consumption — and don’t be too surprised if that doesn’t happen immediately.
Here’s Microsoft’s first promotional video featuring Nadella:
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