Satya Nadella is a big fan of cricket. But on Sunday he wound up for a different sport as the Microsoft CEO threw out the virtual first first pitch for the Seattle Mariners before the team’s game against the San Diego Padres. Former Mariners catcher Dave Valle joined Nadella for the socially distanced toss — who needs six feet when you can go with 60 feet, 6 inches? After Nadella threw his first pitch, Valle said, “Not bad. I think you can do a little bit better.” So Nadella brought in a little muscle from the bullpen in the form… Read More
The 2018 Special Olympics USA Games opened in Seattle on Sunday at the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium with a parade of athletes and musical performances and inspiring moments meant to showcase acceptance and inclusion. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was among the dignitaries who took the stage to offer encouraging words to those in attendance. The Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant is the premier corporate partner for the Games. Here are Nadella’s comments in full: “It’s such an honor to be here today. The energy, the enthusiasm in this stadium is palpable and it’s incredible. On behalf of everyone at Microsoft… Read More
Company executives across all industries can learn a lot from team sports. That was the message from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who joined us on stage at the GeekWire Summit in Seattle on Tuesday. GeekWire Editor Todd Bishop kicked off the fireside chat with a gift for Nadella, handing him a new Kookaburra cricket ball. Nadella, who took over as CEO in 2014, writes about cricket in his new book Hit Refresh, detailing his passion for a game that has taught him a lot about leadership and much more. In the book, Nadella reveals that he likes to hold a cricket… Read More
The Seattle Seahawks know a thing or two about rallying around inspirational voices — whether it’s head coach Pete Carroll or players ranging from Russell Wilson to Kam Chancellor to Doug Baldwin or Earl Thomas. On Thursday at practice, Carroll was happy to welcome another leader who inspires as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella paid a visit. Caroll shared a photo of himself with Nadella on Twitter and said he was “pumped” for the release next week of the CEO’s new book, “Hit Refresh.” Loved having @SatyaNadella with us at practice today! Truly an inspirational leader! Pumped for his book #HitRefresh… Read More
Each year, Special Olympics International and its 220 chapters worldwide organize some 108,000 events. The games give athletes with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to compete in everything from basketball to bocce, gymnastics to judo. The group’s lofty goal is to “transform lives through the joy of sport,” which has the added benefit of helping erode misconceptions about its athletes. But until recently, one of the heaviest lifts for the nonprofit came from the basic mechanics of running their signature sporting events. There was the job of registering athletes, setting up the matches and competitions and scrambling to tally scores. People… Read More
