Microsoft will reportedly name enterprise chief Satya Nadella as CEO
Microsoft still hasn't announced who will succeed Steve Ballmer as CEO, but Bloomberg News is reporting that the company is on the verge of naming a replacement. Satya Nadella, the current enterprise chief, will reportedly take over the chief executive job; additionally, Microsoft is considering replacing Bill Gates as chairman, according to Bloomberg's sources.
If true, the report would end speculation that Microsoft was leaning toward a chief executive with more consumer-facing experience (ex-Nokia chief Stephen Elop and Ford CEO Alan Mulally were once said to be on the short list). Indeed, Nadella has spent his 22 years at Microsoft focused on the company's core business customers: before taking over the company's enterprise and cloud business, he ran the servers and tools unit and was vice president of the Microsoft Business Division. While it might be fun to speculate what Microsoft's future will be if it ends up being led by a seasoned enterprise vet, it's probably still worth waiting for an official announcement: Bloomberg adds that although Microsoft is preparing to name Nadella as CEO, "the plans aren't finished."
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