Microsoft: New CEO, Very Old Board

While announcing the appointment of Nadella as CEO, the company also said that Bill Gates is stepping down from his role as the chairman of the company’s board of directors. He will be taking on a new role that is titled as founder and technology adviser. In a press release Microsoft said that “Bill Gates will devote more time to the company, supporting Nadella in shaping technology and product direction.”

One thing that struck us at 24/7 Wall Street, is that as they add only the third CEO in the past 40 years, they have a very old board of directors that has been appointed over the years by Gates and outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer. The only two recent additions to the Microsoft board are Seagate Technology CEO Stephen Luczo and Virtual Instruments CEO John Thompson, both of whom were appointed in 2012. This is in stark contrast to David Marquardt, who has sat on the board since 1981.

The question for shareholders and the firms on Wall Street that cover Microsoft, is that with an older and entrenched board of directors seated and helping to shape company policy, will Mr. Nadella be able to effect real change at the company?. More importantly, will Microsoft have the ability to reinvent itself as more than a company that churns out a new Windows edition every 2-3 years. That’s what Wall Street was counting on when it appeared that Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) CEO Alan Mulally was going to be chosen, and would return to Seattle where he ran Boeing for years.

Satya Nadella is a long time Microsoft employee and certainly has mastered the ins and outs of the venerable company. That said, his past experience within the firm is in product research and development, not on the critical sales and marketing side. That has been the more recent focus of the company, and certainly was Steve Ballmer’s area of expertise. As they attempt to expand their key investments in the enterprise market, will Satya Nadella be up to the task of implementing his vision and putting a personal stamp on the future direction of Microsoft?. With a board of directors selected by Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, who probably have some pretty firm views on corporate direction, that may prove to be a very difficult challenge.