Microsoft Corp. said it’s named Satya Nadella, the firm’s executive vice president of cloud and enterprise, to be chief executive officer. Steve Ballmer had previously announced he was retiring.
“Satya is a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, business vision and the ability to bring people together,” said Bill Gates, who’s going to step down as chairman but stay on as technology adviser.
“The opportunity ahead for Microsoft is vast, but to seize it, we must focus clearly, move faster and continue to transform. A big part of my job is to accelerate our ability to bring innovative products to our customers more quickly,” Nadella said.
John Thompson, the lead independent director, will become chairman.
This article originally appeared on MarketWatch.com.Â