14 DAY TRIAL // Satya Nadella took over from Steve Ballmer at the helm of Microsoft last year, and since then he has completely changed the face of the company, turning the software giant into the kind of technology empire that's still very keen on working together with its customers and listening to their suggestions whenever they have something to say.
And unsurprisingly, Nadella has a very high employee approval rating, with most of the Microsofties thinking that he's just the right man for the job.
Blake Irving, who is now the CEO of GoDaddy, worked for Microsoft between 1992 and 2007 and said in an interview with BI that Satya Nadella would have been his only choice for the CEO position if he were to pick from someone working for the company.
His reasons? Not only is Nadella a people person, but he also works very hard to achieve his goals, which makes him just the best example for company employees who have to give their best to achieve more.
“ Engineers love him”
Irving explained that Satya Nadella has the right personality to lead Microsoft, while also having the experience and knowledge to get involved into technical stuff that could help improve the company's products.
“Engineers love him, he's a business guy, he's super technical, and he's not a type A plus. He's a type A because he works his ass off, but he's a sensitive guy and he listens,” he said.
“There's two types of listeners at that company. The guy who listens for the break in the sentence so he can interrupt you and get his point of view in, or the guy who listens to you to really understand and learn. And Satya was always the guy who listened to really understand and learn.”
Satya Nadella competed against several other high-profile tech executives for the CEO role, but also against some people who aren't involved in the technology industry, such as Ford's Alan Mulally, who has always been considered a turnaround man that can save the company.