Microsoft founder Bill Gates praises the company CEO Satya Nadella for helping it stand out in the industry

**Microsoft** founder Bill Gates was all praises for the company’s Indian-American CEO Satya Nadella, saying he has successfully charted a course for making the most of the opportunities created by technology and helped the IT giant to stand out in the computing industry. [caption id=“attachment_3922837” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Bill Gates joins Instagram. Reuters.[/caption] In stepping out of the long shadow of former Microsoft leaders Gates and Steve Ballmer, Nadella has already accomplished what seemed impossible, increasing Microsoft’s market share by USD 250 billion since taking control. “It was no surprise to me that once Nadella became Microsoft’s CEO, he immediately put his mark on the company. As the title of this book implies, he didn’t completely break with the past when you hit refresh on your browser, some of what’s on the page stays the same,” Gates writes in his forward to Nadella’s “ **Hit Refresh** ”. The book ‘Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone’, authored by 50-year-old Nadella, who is only the third-ever CEO of Microsoft, hit the stores this week. Under Nadella’s leadership, Microsoft has been able to transition away from a purely Windows-centric approach, Gates writes. “He led the adoption of a bold new mission for the company. He is part of a constant conversation, reaching out to customers, top researchers and executives. And, most crucially, he is making big bets on a few key technologies, like **artificial intelligence** (AI) and **cloud computing** , where Microsoft will differentiate itself,” he said. It is a smart approach not just for Microsoft, but for any company that wants to succeed in the digital age, Gates observes. Noting that the computing industry has never been more complex, he said that today lot of big companies besides Microsoft are doing innovative work-Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and others. There are cutting-edge users all around the world, not just in the US.