Satya Nadella Appointed Microsoft CEO as Bill Gates Shifts from Chairman to 'Technology Advisor'

Microsoft announced today that it has appointed company veteran Satya Nadella as Chief Executive Officer to replace retiring Steve Ballmer. Nadella, who previously served as executive vice president of the company's Cloud and Enterprise group, will take over as CEO and join the Board of Directors effective immediately.

Satya Nadella
As part of this leadership change, Bill Gates is stepping down as Chairman of the Board of Directors and will take a position as "Founder and Technology Advisor". John Thompson, former CEO of Symantec, will assume the role of Board Chairman. This will mark a significant shift for Gates, who has been asked by Nadella to take a more active role in product development within the company.

Microsoft also announced that Bill Gates, previously Chairman of the Board of Directors, will assume a new role on the Board as Founder and Technology Advisor, and will devote more time to the company, supporting Nadella in shaping technology and product direction.

Gates will work three days each week at Microsoft and will remain actively involved in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, reports Re/code.

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
walmart new ornametns

Walmart Black Friday Deals Begin Today With Low Prices on Headphones, TVs, and More

Friday November 14, 2025 7:55 am PST by
Walmart's Black Friday sale has officially kicked off today, with an online shopping event that's also seeing some matching deals in retail locations. There are quite a few major discounts in this sale, including savings on headphones, TVs, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Walmart. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us...
CarPlay Pinned Messages

iOS 26.2 Adds New CarPlay Setting

Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose. Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Here's When Tesla is Expected to Add Support for Apple CarPlay

Sunday November 16, 2025 6:49 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that Tesla plans to add Apple CarPlay support to its vehicles "in the coming months." This is easily the biggest news for the regular version of CarPlay in years, should Tesla actually follow through with offering the system in its vehicles. As noted by Gurman, this would be a stunning reversal for Tesla and its CEO Elon ...

Top Rated Comments

natd1993 Avatar
154 months ago
But... can he do this?

Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Winni Avatar
154 months ago
Wow Gates stepping down. That is big news. I hope this will be even better for his foundation now that he will have some more time hopefully to devote to it.

You should read the news again: Gates is stepping down as Chairman, but at the same time he will spend MORE TIME at Microsoft as TECHNOLOGY ADVISER.

----------

Interesting Mac rumor....

Microsoft has a Mac division. And a CEO change at Microsoft is certainly more newsworthy than a new Angry Birds release for iOS...
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
overanalyzer Avatar
154 months ago
For those of us who love Microsoft for Azure and .NET, this is fantastic news.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RawBert Avatar
154 months ago
He should throw these on. I'd like to see how he looks in them.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheJae Avatar
154 months ago
Compared to Ballmer, he looks like someone i'd like to have tea with.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vmachiel Avatar
154 months ago
Well a software engineer at the helm again seems like a good thing.

Interesting Mac rumor....
Come on, iPhone rumors aren't Mac rumors. This concerns Apple as well since MS is one of their main competitors. It's not like every MS event is reported.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)