Microsoft has announced that Satya Nadella is the company's new CEO.
Nadella, who has been at Microsoft for 22 years, most recently serving as executive VP of the firm's cloud and enterprise group, has been given the vote of confidence by former CEO, Steve Ballmer.
"Having worked with him for more than 20 years, I know that Satya is the right leader at the right time for Microsoft," said Ballmer, who announced on 23 August 2013 that he would step down once a successor had been found.
"I've had the distinct privilege of working with the most talented employees and senior leadership team in the industry, and I know their passion and hunger for greatness will only grow stronger under Satya's leadership."
Accellerated innovation
Speaking about his new position, Nadella explained that Microsoft must aim to accelerate innovation in order to seize the enormous opportunity that now lies before it.
"Microsoft is one of those rare companies to have truly revolutionized the world through technology, and I couldn't be more honored to have been chosen to lead the company," said Nadella.
"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."
A future in the cloud
In a company wide email sent out by Nadella, the new CEO stated that his mission is to build a better world through Microsoft, hinting that the cloud will play a crucial part in turning his vision into reality.
"I am here for the same reason I think most people join Microsoft to change the world through technology that empowers people to do amazing things" said Nadella.
"This will be made possible by an ever-growing network of connected devices, incredible computing capacity from the cloud, insights from big data, and intelligence from machine learning.
"As we look forward, we must zero in on what Microsoft can uniquely contribute to the world.
"The opportunity ahead will require us to reimagine a lot of what we have done in the past for a mobile and cloud-first world, and do new things."
