It's Official: Microsoft Names Satya Nadella It's Third CEO

It's official. After months of search and speculation Microsoft Microsoft has named Satya Nadella its third CEO effective immediately.

Microsoft shares were up about 1.7% to $37.11 in early morning trading following the news.

Previously executive vice president of Microsoft's cloud and enterprise group, Nadella joined the company in 1992. In an email to employees Tuesday morning he wrote, "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."

Nadella, 46, goes on to say that this feeling continues to inspire him today.

Of course, over the years a lot has change for the Hyderabad, India native and that company he is taking on the challenge of leading. He began working for Microsoft after a stint at Sun Microsystems and while attaining a masters in business for the University of Chicago (he also has a masters in computer science from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee). "I used to fly to Chicago Friday nights, attend classes Saturdays and come back to Redmond to work during the week," he says in a biography from the company. He also enjoys poetry, cricket and online courses.

Since taking up full time residence in Bellevue, Washington Nadella has lead strategy of several products including the cloud and cloud infrastructure which supports search engine Bing, gaming system Xbox and the brand's ubiquitous suite of Office products.

"During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella," said Bill Gates, the company's billionaire founder and original CEO in a statement. "Satya is a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, business vision and the ability to bring people together. His vision for how technology will be used and experienced around the world is exactly what Microsoft needs as the company enters its next chapter of expanded product innovation and growth."

Outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer said in the statement, "Having worked with him for more than 20 years, I know that Satya is the right leader at the right time for Microsoft."

During Ballmer's 14 year tenure the once pioneering company has been accused of loosing relevancy. As Apple Apple has claimed personal computer and industry dominance, Microsoft has been seen as falling behind on things like social media. Ballmer also noted, "I've had the distinct privilege of working with the most talented employees and senior leadership team in the industry, and I know their passion and hunger for greatness will only grow stronger under Satya's leadership."

The company also announced that Gates, who has served as chairman of the board since stepping down from the CEO job in 2000, will leave that role. He will take on a new board as founder and technology advisor. John Thompson, lead independent director of the board, will become chairman and remain an independent director.

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