Microsoft's five-month search for a new CEO is now officially over.
The company announced Satya Nadella, the former executive vice president of Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise group, will replace current CEO Steve Ballmer.
"Nadella's name had been in there from early on, although not perhaps given quite as much credence early on in the process, being that he's a Microsoft man through and through."
Nadella has been with the company for more than 20 years. Before being named CEO, Nadella was in charge of building and running the company's computing platforms, developer tools and cloud services. (Via YouTube / TieSiliconValley)
In a letter addressed to all Microsoft employees, Nadella writes: "It is an incredible honor for me to lead and serve this great company of ours. While we have seen great success, we are hungry to do more."
His team has been very successful growing Microsoft's cloud services. The company's most recent earnings report showed cloud revenue more than doubled since last year.
In August of last year, Ballmer announced he would retire within 12 months. Microsoft's board announced it would form a special committee to select the next CEO. (Via Microsoft)
It was rumored for a while that Ford CEO Alan Mulally was the most likely successor to Ballmer. (Via AllThingsD)
But Mulally squashed that speculation earlier this year when he said he would remain with Ford through 2014. (Via The Seattle Times)
Microsoft also announced that Bill Gates will step into a new role as "technology adviser" and John Thompson is the new chairman.
The insider move isn't a big shake-up for the company, but it's reported Nadella is well-liked and respected within the industry. He's now the company's third CEO in its history.
