Satya Nadella

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Microsoft

Last Reviewed: October 1, 2026

Executive Summary

Satya Nadella has been Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft since February 2014 and Chairman since June 2021. He joined Microsoft in 1992 and, before becoming CEO, led the Cloud and Enterprise group, where he drove the company’s move into cloud infrastructure and services. Microsoft’s results now centre on cloud and AI: in fiscal 2026 Azure revenue passed $100 billion for the first time and Microsoft 365 Copilot reached more than 30 million paid seats. Microsoft ranked No. 11 on the 2026 Fortune 500.

Career Highlights

• Chairman of Microsoft since June 2021 and Chief Executive Officer since February 2014.
• Executive Vice President, Cloud and Enterprise, 2013 to 2014.
• President, Server and Tools, 2011 to 2013.
• Senior Vice President, Online Services Division, 2009 to 2011.
• Joined Microsoft in 1992 from Sun Microsystems.

Professional Journey

Nadella earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Mangalore University, a master’s degree in computer science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an MBA at the University of Chicago. He was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems before joining Microsoft in 1992.

At Microsoft he was vice president of the Business Division, then Senior Vice President of Search, Portal, and Advertising from 2008 and of the Online Services Division from 2009, where he led research and development. He became President of Server and Tools in 2011 and Executive Vice President of Cloud and Enterprise in July 2013, leading the transformation to cloud infrastructure and services.

He was named Chief Executive Officer in February 2014 and Chairman in June 2021. For fiscal 2026 he reported that Azure revenue had passed $100 billion and that Microsoft 365 Copilot had more than 30 million paid seats. He serves on the University of Chicago’s board of trustees.

Education

Mangalore University

Bachelor’s degree, Electrical Engineering

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Master’s degree, Computer Science

University of Chicago

MBA