Knowing Satya Nadella beyond Microsoft
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was recently in India. On his two-day visit, he struck a deal with Ola to provide car manufacturers a connected vehicle platform, and spoke at the India Today's business conclave in Delhi. All this while he also promoted his new book, Hit Refresh. We've all read about the tech-giant's chief. Here, however, we look at Satya, the family man.
A Hyderabadi romantic at heart, Satya loves tech and cricket
A Hyderabadi romantic at heart, his favorite Indian is Mahatma Gandhi and his second great love is cricket. The 50-year-old studied engineering at the Manipal Institute of Technology and moved to the US in 1988 to study computer science. Satya was named Microsoft's CEO in 2014. Currently, he lives near Seattle with his wife Anu and three children: a son and two daughters.
Satya Nadella learnt empathy from his disabled son
The one quality that plays a major role in how Satya thinks, leads and relates is empathy. He has his eldest child Zain, 21, to thank for it. Raising Zain, who is quadriplegic and visually impaired, has taught the Nadellas invaluable life lessons. At home, he is 'The Dad'. He helps children with homework, monitors their screen time, takes them out, does it all.
Satya has another special child
It's not just Zain. One of Satya's daughters has learning disability, to the extent that none of the local schools could help her. The Nadellas found assistance by an academy in Vancouver. Anu shuttled their daughter to and from Canada for five years until she helped establish the academy's second branch in Washington. All this while he was leading Microsoft through a drastic transition.
Empathy forms the core of Satya's innovation agenda at Microsoft
Satya does not use empathy exclusively at home. He feels it's a quality that's indispensable to the work of tech giants. It is therefore at the core of his innovation agenda at Microsoft. According to him, Microsoft's essential business is to meet the unarticulated needs of customers, which his team can expect to achieve only if it has a deep sense of empathy.
Mixed reality, AI next big things in tech: Satya Nadella
Talk about the scope of technology and Satya says it is what has kept Zain alive and given him more control of his life than conventionally possible. He believes that technology is a tool which will increasingly disrupt the status quo but humans will have to decide how to use it. According to him, mixed reality and AI will have transformative impact on future-generations.
Satya on why it's important to keep hitting refresh
Satya's new book, Hit Refresh, is the journey of a man in power wanting to give insights to his team to utilize their best potential. Though he never planned his rise in Microsoft, he was prepared for it. Satya says giving his all to every opportunity or mistake, and using them to maximum impact has made all the difference in his life.
The Nadellas have a black poodle named Winston
The Nadellas have a gorgeous family dog: a one-year-old black poodle named Winston. They think it is essential for children to have dogs as they teach companionship and responsibility. Winston is a great emotional support for Zain and a source of joy for the rest.
