A cricket buff and poetry loving electrical engineer from Hyderabad Satya Nadella is the next occupant of the Microsoft corner office in Redmond from where Bill Gates built his software empire.
Nadella joined Microsoft, the world's largest software company, over two decades ago. He is the only third CEO after Gates and Steve Ballmer in the 38-year old history of $78 billion company.
His friends and family describe him as humble, nice, and a leader with a vision.
Hailing from Hyderabad, a land which produced cricketing heroes like ML Jaisimha, Mohd Azharuddin and VVS Laxman, Nadella's passion for the gentleman's game is not surprising.
He says cricket taught him teamwork and leadership that helped him rise through the twists and turns of the corporate world and head of the
"I think playing cricket taught me more about working in teams and leadership that has stayed with me throughout my career," Nadella said after his appointment as Microsoft CEO was announced.
Nadella played cricket as part of Hyderabad Public School team.
Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen and billionaire investor and Chairman of Fairfax Holdings Prem Watsa studied in the same school.
Nadella later went to the Mangalore University for Bachelor's in electrical engineering. He has two Master's degree in computer science and business administration from the University of Wisconsin and University of Chicago.
And one gets to know his zest for learning when he says: "I used to fly to Chicago Friday nights, attend classes Saturdays and come back to Redmond to work during the week." It took him two-and-a-half years, but he finished his master's degree.
Nadella, who joined Microsoft in 1992, previously served as the Executive Vice President of Cloud and Enterprise Group.
Before joining Microsoft, Nadella was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems.
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