By Adam Levine
When Satya Nadella became Microsoft CEO in 2014, the software company was stuck in the mud. Its Windows and Office franchises had matured, and forays into consumer devices and mobile operating systems had failed. The stock was trading at a record low valuation.
Nadella, 58, regained investor confidence with a shift to the cloud and a less cutthroat culture. The stock is up tenfold since then, for a 23% annual total return.
Today, Nadella and Microsoft face a new transition -- artificial intelligence -- that is impacting every part of the business, from gaming consoles to enterprise software.
AI brings both opportunity and challenges for software companies. Nadella has put Microsoft in a position to succeed, with new AI services and an early investment in OpenAI. The market has focused on the challenges, but Nadella's Microsoft persists, growing sales 18% in the past 12 months and earnings per share by 30%.
Nadella was born in India, and came to the U.S. to earn degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Chicago. He joined Microsoft in 1992, and has worked there most of his professional life.
Write to Adam Levine at adam.levine@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 19, 2026 01:00 ET (05:00 GMT)
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