Microsoft Names Nadella CEO: What He Inherits

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mak63,
User Rank: Ninja
2/9/2014 | 11:03:56 PM

With Mr Nadella as CEO, I have high hopes for Microsoft's future; which in return will benefit all of us

These are few quotes form Mr Madella from TiEcon 2013 that I found fascinating.

You're gonna come at it (success) with the attitude of both.confidence and humility that you're not on top of the hill. Because the day you get one of these wrong.. If you don't have the confidence to conquer the hill and the humility to recognize your true position; either one of those things can be an issue.

And

Be able to reinvent yourself, otherwise you're gonna die.

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Whoopty,
User Rank: Ninja
2/5/2014 | 9:54:55 AM

Pretty Excited

I'd agree with others that I think having Gates kicking around in the background is probably a good thing for the company right now, but either way, I'm excited to see what Microsoft can do with a new captain. It's needed a shake up for a while now and something like this could have massive ramifications on the tech world.

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Shane M. O'Neill,
User Rank: Author
2/5/2014 | 9:32:49 AM

Re: The return of Bill Gates

I agree Wyatt, having Gates in an advisor role was probably a prerequisite to approving Nadella. I doubt Nadella asked Gates to "step up" -- more like Gates came with the job. I think he'll be a positive influence. He's older and wiser now and not as ruthless. If he wanted the CEO job, it would have been his. He does have to be careful not to get in the way of Nadella establishing his own identity. That may be hard given Gates' fame, so the more he stays on the sidelines the better.

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brianjbartlett,
User Rank: Apprentice
2/4/2014 | 11:04:11 PM

Dance Partner

Please don't take this pejoratively, but Microsoft hardly ever, in the thirty years I've been watching, taken the lead in any "new" iteration in IT. Instead they are quite adept at watching from the sidelines, learning the steps, and then slide in as a new dance partner. It usually takes a few iterations before Microsoft is in demand as a the foremost dance partner. [Embrace, extend, extinguish to Microsoft-bashers.] What they turn out is turn-key technology especially when you mix in their partners and developer bases.

Devices and Services seems to be the new dance-craze and judging from past results, Nadella seems to be the right lead. History will make that judgement. I do have a couple of concerns with the activist section of the Board but not knowing all the players, I'll reserve likely hazards aside from observing that the $40 Billion stock buy-back is poorly timed for a company investing in a "newish" sector. Perhaps that was the "price" to keep them at bay.

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WKash,
User Rank: Author
2/4/2014 | 4:58:02 PM

The return of Bill Gates

Interesting to see Bill Gates declare he'll be spending a third of his time helping out at Microsoft again (according to the video clip embedded here) -- especially given "Reports ...over the last year... that influential investors are concerned about Microsoft's direction, and wary of the continued influence of Gates and Ballmer."

Nadella brings a lot to the party (especially given his success moving Microsoft's enterprise product line up into the cloud). My speculation, but one has to imagine the board had some concerns about how well Nadella would play with big investors and figured having Gates in a part time advisor role was good insurance.

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Thomas Claburn,
User Rank: Author
2/4/2014 | 4:14:50 PM

Re: Gates as adviser

I see Gates as a positive influence, but I just can't tell whether Microsoft has a shot at replicating Apple's success with Windows and Windows Phone. And if Microsoft skews too heavily toward enterprise customers, it will lose in public affinity what it may gain in revenue, to its long-term detriment.

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jries921,
User Rank: Ninja
2/4/2014 | 2:27:27 PM

Re: Gates as adviser

Amazingly enough, given my history as an "ABMer", I see it as a positive development. Gates can be a ruthless bastard, but he's also brilliant, and he cares deeply about the tech. And given that if he wanted the job, he'd have it, he's no threat to Nadella.

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Laurianne,
User Rank: Author
2/4/2014 | 1:39:28 PM

Gates as adviser

Wary of the continued influence of Gates and Ballmer? I can't imagine Gates stepping away entirely when his company is fighting a fierce battle for its credibility in the age of cloud and mobile. Do you see Gates presence as adviser as a positive or negative, readers?

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