By Suhani Gupta
Many companies desire to change the world, but very few truly succeed. Microsoft, with an abundance of talent, resources and perseverance is one such name. Bill Gates took it from an idea to one of the most powerful and universally loved and acknowledged companies of the world. The unique selling proposition of this establishment has always been its relentless hunger to do more and more, even after witnessing extraordinary level of success. Microsoft has been able to conquer the market globally through its innovation and technology that has been empowering people to do things which earlier, seemed to be impossible.
Microsoft Windows is still running on 9 out of every 10 computers in the world. Such has been the reach of this illustrious company, which generated a colossal profit of around $27 billion in the year that went by and currently holds $84 billion in cash. Oscar Wilde once said, ‘We need to believe in the impossible and remove the improbable’. Microsoft has truly been able to reinforce this view with its contributions to the world. People across India felt great ecstasy and pride when Microsoft’s board announced Hyderabad-born Satya Nadella as the new CEO of this tech giant.
Nadella was born and brought up in Hyderabad in a Telugu family. The 46- year-old Nadella first joined the company in 1992 and spent the last three years working in its Cloud and Enterprise group. He is the third CEO of the company after Gates and Ballmer. He also worked as a member of the Planning Commission from 2004-2009. What has brought up this man to the level that he is at right now, is his belief in doing meaningful work to change the lives of the common people. He possesses an exceptional level of creativity, talent and knowledge and a mind wired for innovation. “I buy more books than I can actually read”, he says. In the past, he has showcased all qualities of being a good leader. His hard-core engineering skills and clear business vision are what led to his elevation. According to his co-workers, what sets Nadella apart from others is the authenticity in his work and his ability to inspire people and not just push them to work. Many feel that whether he was running a technology company or a non-profit company, he would end up possessing the same demeanor.
Nadella’s promotion makes him the highest ranked Indian executive, ahead of Pepsico’s Indira Nooyi and Mastercard’s Ajay Banga. Nadella’s appointment as the CEO is good news not just for Microsoft, but also for all people across India. It has provided us, Indians, another reason to be proud of our nation and its accomplishments. Lets hope to see many more such Indians shining across the world.
