Microsoft has confirmed that Satya Nadella will be its next CEO, replacing Steve Ballmer effective immediately. A twenty-two year veteran at the company, Nadella most recently headed up Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group. Only the third CEO in Microsoft’s history, Nadella faces the daunting task of completing the strategy changes started by Ballmer, transforming the firm from a software company to a hardware and services company.
At the same time, the company announced that Bill Gates will step down as chairman, but will remain a board member, as will Steve Ballmer. John Thompson, a former IBM executive and Symantec CEO, will assume the role of chairman.