Nadella earned a second master's degree in business at the University of Chicago. He told them that he joined Microsoft to change the world, and that the company has the talent, resources and perseverance to do just that.įor a master's degree in computer science, he went to the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. In an email to Microsoft workers, Nadella was already rallying his team. "There's so many subplots in it, it's like reading a Russian novel." "I love it," Nadella said of cricket Tests. He is also a fan of cricket Test matches that pit representative teams from countries against one another in games that typically span days. Nadella played cricket as part of Hyderabad Public School team.Įarly in his academic career, a drive to build things led him to pursue computer science, a focus not available during his studies at Mangalore University, where he earned a bachelor degree in electrical engineering.
"I think playing cricket taught me more about working in teams and leadership that has stayed with me throughout my career," Nadella said after his appointment as Microsoft CEO was announced. He says cricket taught him teamwork and leadership that helped him rise through the twists and turns of the corporate world. Hailing from Hyderabad, a land which produced cricketing heroes like ML Jaisimha, Mohd Azharuddin and VVS Laxman, Nadella's passion for the gentleman's game is not surprising. Now he is the top player on the team at Microsoft, the aging US technology colossus where he has worked for nearly half of his 46 years of life. As a boy growing up in Hyderabad, India, Satya Nadella so loved the sport of cricket that he played competitively on his school team.