Nadella’s Pay Hits Record $96.5M as Microsoft Rides AI Boom

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft Corporation, received $96.5 million in compensation for the fiscal year 2024-2025, the most he has received since taking on the role more than ten years ago. The board attributed the increase to the company's advances in artificial intelligence (AI), according to Bloomberg.

Key Highlights

• Satya Nadella’s total compensation rose to US $96.5 million, reflecting Microsoft’s AI-powered growth.
• Around 90% of Nadella’s pay came through stock awards, aligning his reward with Microsoft’s performance in AI.

The results "demonstrate that Satya Nadella and his leadership team have positioned Microsoft as a clear artificial intelligence leader for this generational technology shift", the board's compensation committee wrote in a note to shareholders included in a regulatory filing released on Tuesday.

According to the filing, Microsoft shares account for approximately 90 percent of Nadella's pay, which includes a base salary of $2.5 million. He made $79.1 million in the previous fiscal year. Nadella became Microsoft's third CEO in 2014.

Top executives' pay also rises

Pay for Nadella's top deputies also increased in the fiscal year ending in June. Amy Hood, the Chief Financial Officer, received a total compensation package of $29.5 million, while Judson Althoff, who was recently promoted to lead Microsoft's commercial business, received a package worth $28.2.

Through Tuesday's close, shares of the world's largest software company had risen 23% this year. Microsoft's Azure cloud computing division has consistently grown faster than competitors like Amazon.com Inc.

Strategic acquisitions under Nadella

Nadella's most notable accomplishment has been leading Microsoft's successful transition to cloud computing. Recognizing the promise of cloud services early on, he pushed for the expansion of Azure, which now competes closely with Amazon Web Services for market leadership.

Strategic acquisitions such as GitHub and LinkedIn helped Microsoft expand its presence in software development and professional networking. Nadella also expanded the company's gaming portfolio with major investments, including the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which solidified Microsoft's position in the rapidly growing gaming industry.

Also Read: Satya Nadella Warns: AI Era Could Threaten Microsoft’s Future

Betting heavily on OpenAI

Under Nadella's leadership, Microsoft invested $1 billion in the then-unknown AI startup OpenAI. Thanks to ChatGPT, OpenAI has since become the most well-known name in AI. Microsoft strengthened the partnership with an additional $10 billion investment and has since integrated AI features into nearly all of its products and services.

Satya Nadella's Career Path

Nadella was born and raised in Hyderabad and earned an electrical engineering degree from Mangalore University in 1988. After moving to the United States, he earned a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1990 and joined Sun Microsystems' technology team.

He was hired by Microsoft in 1992, and he initially worked on the development of Windows NT, an operating system aimed at business users. Nadella later became president of Microsoft's server and tools division, and then executive vice president in charge of the company's cloud computing operations.

On February 4, 2014, Nadella was named CEO of Microsoft, succeeding co-founder Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.