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Microsoft Corp named 22-year company veteran Satya Nadella as its next chief executive officer on Tuesday (February 4), and said co-founder Bill Gates would step down as chairman and advise the new CEO on technology, marking an epochal change of control at the company that drove the PC revolution.
Nadella, a 46-year old born in India who led the creation of Microsoft's Internet-based, or "cloud" computing services, is only Microsoft's third CEO in 39 years, taking over from Steve Ballmer, who inherited the job from Gates in 2000.
The move ends a five-month search process at the Redmond, Washington-based company, triggered by the August announcement of Ballmer's decision to retire. That was longer than many investors had expected.
Gates said Nadella's experience in cloud computing made him the right man to lead Microsoft, as the company struggles to find its feet in the new arena of mobile computing.
As he relinquishes the
