Microsoft is decided to call Nadella as its next CEO. Take a better examine who he’s and what he brings to the table.

Microsoft is preparing to introduce Satya Nadella, the company’s executive VP for cloud and enterprise, as its new CEO, in line with numerous reports. An official announcement reportedly could arrive inside the next several days.

Since Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced last year that he will be retiring, many would-be candidates have taken turns on the center of speculation. But at the same time as possible Ballmer successors, including Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Ericcson CEO Hans Vestberg, entered and exited the conversation, reports have consistently listed Satya Nadella among those under one of the most serious consideration.

Citing multiple unidentified sources, news website Recode reported Wednesday that Microsoft was on the subject of choosing Nadella. Bloomberg followed up the following day, stating that a source with knowledge of the method had corroborated Nadella’s status as CEO-in-waiting, and adding that the Microsoft board might replace Bill Gates as chair. Bloomberg noted that plans don’t seem to be final, though reports have suggested for months that some prominent investors are wary of Gates’s and Ballmer’s continued presence on Microsoft’s board. Reuters subsequently cited its own unnamed source who stated Nadella might be named CEO in coming days.

[If learning out of your mistakes is essential to success, Microsoft have to have a good 2014. See Microsoft In 2013: 7 Lessons Learned.]

Who is Satya Nadella and why might he become Microsoft’s next leader? Listed here are three major strengths Nadella brings to the table.

1. Nadella blends leadership skills with technical expertise. Commentators have debated for months whether Microsoft’s next CEO ought to be a tech visionary, à la Gates, or a professional manager and businessperson, like Ballmer. In Nadella, an accomplished engineer who also holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, Microsoft may need found both.

“He’s an exceptionally smart guy who really understands the cloud business and knows tips on how to run it effectively,” said IDC analyst Al Gillen in a phone interview. “He’s very, very impressive as anyone and a tech manager.”

2. Nadella has led Microsoft’s most promising efforts. Nadella has spent most of his career at Microsoft, joining the corporate in 1992 after a stint at Sun Microsystems. Nadella has led Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise efforts, building the inspiration for successful products resembling Windows Azure and Office 365. These efforts encompass some of the Microsoft projects which have grown most rapidly in recent times, and which analysts consider most significant to the company’s future. Some commentators had questioned whether alleged CEO front-runners similar to Mulally would have the tech chops to steer Microsoft, but Recode’s report said company insiders consider Nadella an uncontroversial choice because of his diverse skills and powerful track record.

3. Nadella is an brisk leader. Microsoft’s next CEO must negotiate a course full of a variety of critics and collaborators. She or he should keep investors, lots of whom were never supportive of Ballmer, both satisfied with quarterly progress and invested in long-term goals — a potentially conflicting mandate, given Microsoft’s much-debated and slow progress making its own devices.

The next CEO may even need to inspire developers to support Microsoft’s flagship platforms, along with Windows 8.1’s Modern UI. She or he may also must reconnect with a user base that has rejected Windows 8 and eight.1. If that is not enough, Microsoft’s next leader must oversee extended implementation of the companywide reorganization Ballmer unveiled before announcing he would retire.

Last year, Forrester analyst David Johnson told InformationWeek that Nadella may be right person to tackle these challenges. He said Microsoft needs a pace-setter who can energize employees and partners, and that Nadella has the charisma and intelligence to do the job.

Gillen expressed similar sentiments. He said Nadella is easily-liked and revered, though he countered that the CEO role is larger than anything Nadella has conquered up to now, which can give some board members pause.

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Michael Endler joined InformationWeek as an associate editor in 2012. He previously worked in talent representation within the entertainment industry, as a contract copywriter and photojournalist, and as a teacher. Michael earned a BA in English from Stanford University in 2005 … View Full Bio

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