Cover Story
9
INDIA IN NEW YORK FEBRUARY 14, 2014
‘If he had not got a H1-B visa he would
have had to leave the country’
SUMAN GUHA MOZUMDER
S
atya Nadella’s ascent to the top job
at Microsoft should be “a wakeup
call” for the American government
in terms of immigration reform,
Vivek Wadhwa, fellow, Arthur &
Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate
Governance at Stanford University, said.
“If he had not got a H1-B visa or a Green
Card, he would have had to leave the country. The sad thing for America is that tens of
thousands like him are being chased away
every year because of America’s flawed
immigration policies.”
He noted that Nadella came to this country when it was easy for skilled immigrants
to get a permanent residence, but now it is
extremely hard.
“There are tens of thousands of would-be
entrepreneurs leaving the US every year.
There are probably several Microsoft-type
companies that weren’t started in the US
because of our flawed immigration policies.
This is sheer stupidity,” Wadhwa added. “The
country is bleeding competitiveness.”
Vish Mishra, Venture Director, Clearstone
Venture Partners, however said that to look
on the brighter side of things, such an
appointment could only be possible in a
country like America “where talent is recognized and honored.”
“Think of the bigger issues — half of the
fortune 500 CEOs are immigrants and 25
percent of all the new businesses are founded by new immigrants who have made huge
contributions in terms of dollars to the
American economy. But having said that I
would admit that not addressing the issue of
huge skilled talent shortage in America is a
big mistake,” Mishra said. “Skilled and highly
talented people should be fast tracked. The
problem is not the immigration authorities
but the policy makers. There are lobbyists,
and members of the Congress have different
agendas to push. I do not think Satya’s
appointment would be a wakeup call in DC
at all. But people like Satya should be welcomed with open arms and given residency
and it should be fast tracked.”
An archival photograph of
a long line outside the
Immigration and
Naturalization center
in New York.
PAGE 7
names like Alan Mulally, CEO, Ford
Motors; Stephen Elop, former CEO, Nokia;
Steve Mollenkopf from Qualcomm;
Ericsson’s Hans Vestberg; Tony Bates, former Skype boss now in charge of Microsoft’s
business development; and Sundar Pichai, a
senior vice president at Google who managed its Android OS, Chrome browser, and
apps divisions; surged ahead.
He is the third CEO of Microsoft, and in
him the company gets an insider and an
engineer, who can adapt to all aspects of the
business.
Since joining the company in 1992,
Nadella has spearheaded major strategy and
technical shifts across the company’s portfolio of products and services, most notably
the company’s move to the cloud and the
development of one of the largest cloud
infrastructures in the world supporting
Bing, Xbox, Office and other services.
During his tenure overseeing Microsoft’s
Server and Tools Business, the division outperformed the market and took share from
competitors. He headed Microsoft’s cloud
and enterprise division when the race for
CEO began.
Microsoft founder and its first chief executive officer Bill Gates said there was no
better person than Nadella to lead
Microsoft during this time of transformation for the company.
‘His vision for how technology will be
used and experienced around the world is
REUTERS
‘Microsoft needed somebody like him’
exactly what Microsoft needs as the company enters its next chapter of expanded product innovation and growth,’ Gates said in a
statement.
Gates, who stepped down as chairman
and took on a new role as technology adviser, will devote more time to the company,
supporting Nadella in shaping technology
and product direction.
John Thompson, the lead independent
director for the board of directors, who will
assume the role of Chairman of the Board
and remain an independent director on the
board, said Nadella was clearly the best person to lead Microsoft, and had the board’s
unanimous support.
‘Satya,’ Ballmer said, ‘will be a great CEO,
and I am pumped for the future of
Microsoft. Satya is a proven leader. He’s got
strong technical skills and great business
insights.’
Beyond the official statements and accolades what worked in Nadella’s favor was his
unflinching commitment to the interest of
the company and its people; his popularity
with colleagues, both superiors and subordinates; and above all, his varied experience
in various departments within the company.
He brings, according to those who know
him, a relentless drive for innovation and a
spirit of collaboration to his new role.
“He always had three passions in life —
cloud computing, cricket and poetry, and as
far I know, he has kept them all throughout
his life,” a person who has worked with him
at Microsoft told India In New York.
Entrepreneurs, who have known him, felt
he would deliver the goods given his track
record within Microsoft where he has been
at the helm of various departments, including Cloud Computing and Business
Development, and steered them successfully.
Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla told India
In New York, “Among the candidates speculated about, Satya is the best person for the
job. It is great that he is Indian, but at the
same time he is the best person, Indian or
not. Microsoft needed somebody like him, a
product visionary, a technologist, somebody
who understands enterprise customers and
where technology is going.”
Nadella worked at Sun Microsystems, cofounded by Khosla, before starting at
Microsoft.
“It is great for Satya,” Khosla said, “for a
person as young as him, to be offered that
job. It is a great vindication for him in terms
of his skills and what he has done at
Microsoft.”
“The choice was not surprising, at least for
me,” Khosla added, “because Bill understood the company’s needs and he would
never make a poo ȁ