Microsoft names India-born CEO Satya Nadella as company's Chairman

Microsoft's India-born CEO Satya Nadella has been named the company's Chairman, an additional role in which he will lead the work to set the agenda for the Board.

Microsoft Corp on Wednesday announced that the Board's independent directors unanimously elected Nadella to the role of Board chair, and unanimously elected John W Thompson as the lead independent director, a role he held previously from 2012 to 2014.

In this role, Nadella will lead the work to set the agenda for the board, leveraging his deep understanding of the business to elevate the right strategic opportunities and identify key risks and mitigation approaches for the board's review, the company said in a statement.

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Nadella, 53, succeeds Thompson, who, as the lead independent director, will retain significant authority including providing input on behalf of the independent directors on board agendas, calling meetings of the independent directors, setting agendas for executive sessions, and leading performance evaluations of the CEO, the technology giant said.

When Nadella took the CEO job in February 2014, Bill Gates stepped down as chairman of the company he co-founded, significantly reducing his role at Microsoft, and Thompson was tapped to replace him. The idea was that Nadella would benefit from mentoring by Thompson, a technology executive for several decades.

Nadella had succeeded Steve Ballmer to become Microsoft's CEO in 2014.

Microsoft has undergone a rebirth during Nadella’s leadership, recovering from failures in the mobile phone and internet search market, as well as a waning of the importance of its flagship Windows operating system.