Satya Nadella is a renowned figure in the world as he runs the reigns of one of the largest software firms, Microsoft. Today on August 19, 2016, Nadella turns 49, and here are some interesting facts about the man behind the leading innovation company.
While most success stories begin with a humble background, Nadella's growth to the top of the ladder is a tad different. The ambitious Indian-origin CEO of Microsoft always had his vision straight and pursued it tirelessly. After schooling in Hyderabad Public School, Nadella got his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology.
Nadella started his career as a member of a technology staff at Sun Microsystems, which is now owned by Oracle, and as we all know he is now the CEO of Microsoft. Here are some interesting facts about Nadella involving his personal and professional life.
- Nadella is fond of cricket and credits the game for teaching him leadership and teamwork.
- Nadella's base salary in 2013 was nearly $700,000 with stock bonuses of $7.6 million.
- Nadella married his classmate Anupama the same year he joined Microsoft in 1992. The couple has three kids - two daughters and a son.
- Nadella enjoys American and Indian poetry.
- After his appointment as Microsoft CEO in 2014, Nadella got Bill Gates as his mentor.
- Nadella is reportedly a fan of American football team Seattle Seahawks.
- Nadella is Microsoft's first non-American CEO.
- Nadella received $18.3 million in total compensation for the company's 2015 fiscal year, of which $1.2 million was salary, $12.8 in stock and a $.3 million bonus.
- Nadella is reportedly worth around $67 million as of 2015.
- Nadella takes online classes in his spare time and calls himself a lifelong learner.
- Nadella loves sweet, especially pastries.
With great success, comes experience and Nadella has never been shy of sharing his words of wisdom. Here are a few inspiring quotes by the man himself. (via BrainyQuote)
If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask.
You renew yourself every day. Sometimes you're successful, sometimes you are not, but it's the average that counts.
Be passionate and bold. Always keep learning. You stop doing useful things if you don't learn. So the last part to me is the key, especially if you have had some initial success. It becomes even more critical that you have the learning 'bit' always switched on.
Competition is not going to kill us.
I don't want to fight old battles. I want to fight new ones.
I think we would be dead and gone if we were just mostly failing.
I want people on the front line to be proud of what they're doing and give themselves permission to finish things in ways that they can be proud of.
It's not about the failure, it's about learning from the failures. Failure itself cannot be celebrated.
It's our own ability to have an idea and go after the idea and make it happen. That's what at the end of the day defines us.
The more you live it, the more sustainable your business approach becomes.
When I think about my career, my successes are built on learning from failures.
Believe me, my journey has not been a simple journey of progress. There have been many ups and downs, and it is the choices that I made at each of those times that have helped shape what I have achieved.
One lesson learned is you've got to finish the scenario with excellence. You just cannot stop. You have to complete this, and I think that's where Apple has taught us all what experience excellence means in the creation of categories.
