Satya Nadella
Born 1967 · Age 58
Indian-born American business executive; Chairman and CEO of Microsoft (CEO since Feb 2014; Chairman since Jun 2021). Led Microsoft's cloud transformation and major acquisitions (LinkedIn, GitHub, Mojang).
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Hyderabad, India
Satya Narayana Nadella was born into a Telugu Hindu family in Hyderabad; mother Prabhavati (Sanskrit lecturer), father Bukkapuram Nadella Yugandhar (IAS officer).
Completed schooling at Hyderabad Public School (approx.)
Attended Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet (secondary education). Year is approximate based on typical school-leaving age.
Bachelor's degree — Electrical Engineering (Manipal Institute of Technology)
Received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology (often referenced as the Manipal/Mangalore University program), Karnataka, India.
MS in Computer Science (University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee)
Completed a Master of Science in Computer Science at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (degree received in 1990).
Joined Sun Microsystems (member of technical staff)
Worked at Sun Microsystems as a member of its technology staff prior to joining Microsoft.
Married Anupama Nadella
Married Anupama Priyadarshini (they were students together at Manipal); the couple later had three children.
Joined Microsoft
Joined Microsoft (initial roles included work on Windows/Windows Developer Relations and later multiple leadership roles).
MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Completed a Master of Business Administration while working; degree earned in 1997.
Named Vice President, bCentral (Microsoft)
By 1999 Nadella was named vice president of Microsoft bCentral (small-business service). (Date from Britannica summary.)
Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Business Solutions
Elevated to corporate vice-president of Microsoft Business Solutions (circa 2001 per biographical sources).
Senior Vice President, R&D — Online Services Division
Became Senior VP of Research & Development for Microsoft's Online Services Division (March 2007 – Feb 2011).
Oversaw cloud-first transformation (begins)
Led transformation of company's business/technology culture from client services to cloud infrastructure/services; began bringing database, Windows Server and developer tools to Azure.
President — Server & Tools Business (Microsoft)
Named President of Microsoft's Server & Tools Business (9 Feb 2011). Business was ~ $19 billion in annual revenue at the time.
Reported compensation (2013): base and total
In 2013 Nadella's base salary was reported at $669,167; including stock bonuses total compensation ~ $7.6 million.
Cloud Services revenue milestone
Cloud Services revenue grew to $20.3 billion (June 2013) from $16.6 billion in 2011 during Nadella's leadership of the cloud/server business.
Named CEO of Microsoft
Microsoft announced Satya Nadella as CEO (4 February 2014), the third CEO in company's history, succeeding Steve Ballmer.
Public debut as CEO — Office for iPad and other consumer moves
Public CEO debut included showing Microsoft’s cloud strategy and Office for iPad availability (March 2014 events covered in press).
Nokia devices deal closed; major layoffs announced
Oversaw completion of Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia's mobile-device business (deal announced in 2013, closed April 2014); subsequently announced largest layoffs in company history (~18,000 jobs, majority Nokia-related).
Microsoft acquires Mojang (Minecraft) for $2.5B
Nadella’s first major acquisition as CEO: Mojang (developer of Minecraft) for $2.5 billion (2014).
Controversy: comments on women and raises; apology
At an October 2014 Women in Computing event Nadella said women should 'trust the system' instead of asking for raises; he apologized publicly (tweet and internal email).
CNN-IBN / Global Indian recognition (2015)
Received CNN-IBN Indian of the Year / Global Indian Awards recognition (listed among his awards in some sources).
Microsoft joins Linux Foundation as Platinum member
Under Nadella Microsoft publicly embraced Linux ("Microsoft ❤️ Linux") and joined the Linux Foundation as a Platinum member (2016).
Microsoft acquires Xamarin
Microsoft acquired Xamarin (mobile developer tools); Nadella oversaw the purchase (announcement/business press 2016).
Microsoft announces acquisition of LinkedIn: $26.2B
Microsoft announced the acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016 for $26.2 billion; Nadella led the company during the acquisition.
Reported 2016 compensation: $84.5M
Nadella received $84.5 million in total compensation in 2016 (reported pay figure).
Published 'Hit Refresh'
Authored and published Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone (2017); profits pledged to Microsoft Philanthropies.
Appointed to Starbucks Board of Directors
Joined the board of Starbucks (service listed as 2017–2024 in sources).
Named Time 100 (2018)
Recognized as a Time 100 honoree in 2018.
Acquired GitHub for $7.5B
Microsoft announced acquisition of GitHub for $7.5 billion (26 Oct 2018); Nadella was CEO during the transaction.
Elected to University of Chicago Board of Trustees
Elected to the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, University of Chicago (October 2018 announcement).
Financial Times Person of the Year & Fortune Businessperson of the Year
Received Financial Times Person of the Year (2019) and Fortune's Businessperson of the Year (2019).
Joined Seattle Sounders FC ownership group
Nadella and his wife became part of the ownership group of Seattle Sounders FC (announced 2019).
Global Indian Business Icon (CNBC-TV18 IBLA 2020)
Recognized as Global Indian Business Icon at CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Awards (2020).
Addressed Microsoft employees on coronavirus crisis
Delivered a message to Microsoft employees on handling the COVID-19 crisis ('There is no playbook for this').
Chairman, The Business Council (2021–2022)
Served as Chairman of The Business Council during 2021–2022.
Named Executive Chairman of Microsoft (Chairman of Board)
Microsoft board named Satya Nadella Chairman of the Board on 16 June 2021 (succeeding John W. Thompson).
Awarded Padma Bhushan (India)
Received the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award (Government of India list, 2022).
Death of son, Zain Nadella
Zain Nadella (son) died in February 2022 at age 26. Nadella has said being father to a child with special needs hugely influenced his outlook and Microsoft's accessibility focus.
Seattle Orcas (Major League Cricket) ownership stake
Nadella and other investors (including GMR Group and notable tech figures) purchased the Seattle Orcas cricket team for the 2023 MLC season.
Microsoft stock ~tenfold increase since Nadella became CEO (as of Nov 2023)
By November 2023 Microsoft stock had increased nearly tenfold since Nadella became CEO in 2014 (about 27% annual growth rate reported).
Honorary Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Tech awarded Nadella an honorary doctorate (January 2024).
Named Time 100 honoree (2024)
Time magazine included Nadella among its Time 100 honorees in 2024.
Reported compensation (2024): $79.1M
Nadella's total compensation from Microsoft totaled $79.1 million in 2024, up 63% from his 2023 compensation of $48.5 million.
Resigned from Starbucks Board
Resigned from the Starbucks Board of Directors (reported May 31, 2024).
AI Tour keynote in Amsterdam (speech)
Delivered an AI Tour keynote in Amsterdam (listed on Microsoft leadership page among speeches, June 20, 2025).
Microsoft FY25 Q4 Earnings conference call (speaker)
Led Microsoft's FY25 fourth quarter earnings conference call (speaker on leadership page, 30 July 2025).
Announced bringing OpenAI GPT-OSS models to Azure AI Foundry
LinkedIn post (5 Aug 2025) highlighted bringing OpenAI’s gpt-oss models to Azure AI Foundry and to Windows via Foundry Local — part of Nadella's AI strategy.
Announced GPT-5 launch across Microsoft platforms
LinkedIn post (7 Aug 2025) announced GPT-5 launching across Microsoft platforms (Microsoft 365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot, Azure AI Foundry).
Key Achievement Ages
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