Microsoft announces the appointment of CEO Satya Nadella as chairman of the board

Microsoft has a new chairman of the board and it is no other than the company’s chief executive officer, Satya Nadella. With her assignment at two high posts in the company, it is apparent that he just became even more powerful.

Satya Nadella’s promotion

CNN Business reported that CEO Satya Nadella’s appointment was announced by Microsoft on Wednesday, June 16. He has been serving the company as its chief since 2014 and in his seven years of service, he has been a big help in turning Microsoft into a leader in cloud computing which gave the company big revenues.

It was said that Nadella has been elected to the chairman position in Microsoft's board and based on the released information, he was voted unanimously to take over John Thompson’s position. The board shake-up comes as Microsoft is dealing with the aftermath of investigations involving Bill Gate’s alleged affair with an employee.

Bill Gates already left the board last year and he recently announced his divorce from Melinda Gates as well. The probe was caused by the allegations on the affair that surfaced just more than a week after the divorce was revealed.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella named chairman of the board

With Satya Nadella now directing Microsoft, the company is expected to show changes that will make the firm great again after experiencing many setbacks and controversies. He drove Microsoft to success and made it more prominent in the tech business in the last seven years, and as his role has become even bigger, he could do more to make the company even better.

CNBC noted that under Nadella’s watch, the company that was co-founded by Bill Gates has regained the title of the world’s most valuable public firm. Today, it now stands behind Apple and the tables could turn again soon with the new leadership.

“In this role, Nadella will lead the work to set the agenda for the board, leveraging his deep understanding of the business to elevate the right strategic opportunities and identify key risks and mitigation approaches for the board's review,” Microsoft said in a statement. “As lead independent director, Thompson will retain significant authority including providing input on behalf of the independent directors on board agendas, calling meetings of the independent directors, setting agendas for executive sessions, and leading performance evaluations of the CEO.