From Gates to Nadella: 50 Years of Microsoft Through 4 Visionary Leaders

April 4, 2025 / Forbes LA /

From left to right: Bill Gates, Satya Nadella, John W. Thompson and Steve Ballmer. Getty Images

Microsoft Founders Paul Allen and Bill Gates — Microsoft Co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen pose for a portrait in 1984 in Seattle, Wash. Corbis via Getty Images

For a half-century-old company, Microsoft (MSFT) has seen remarkably steady leadership—just three CEOs and four chairmen at the helm since its founding. Gates served as CEO for 25 years and remained chairman for another 14. His successor, Steve Ballmer, who began as the company’s first business manager, led Microsoft for 14 years under Gates’s continued oversight. Current CEO Satya Nadella, who joined Microsoft in 1992, was appointed in 2014 under then-chairman John W. Thompson and assumed the chairmanship himself in 2021.

Here are the four leaders and their key milestones at Microsoft:

Bill Gates, 69: CEO (1975–2000) and chairman (1975–2014)

Steve Ballmer, 69: CEO (2000–2014)

John W. Thompson, 75: chairman (2014–2021)

Satya Nadella, 57: CEO (2014–present) and chairman (2021–present)

From Gates to Nadella: 50 Years of Microsoft Through 4 Visionary Leaders

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