There’s been quite a change in the leadership of software giant Microsoft, though not a shocking change. It’s that the company’s CEO Satya Nadella has now been appointed as the Chairman of its board and will run both roles concurrently.

• Nadella’s appointment as Microsoft’s chairman makes it the first time in two decades that the company’s chairman will also be its CEO. The only person to have done that before is founder Bill Gates, who stepped down as chairman in 2014, the same year Nadella was appointed CEO.

• Nadella is succeeding John Thompson as Microsoft’s Chairman in a role he held since 2014. Thompson will remain on the company’s board as the lead independent director.

• Nadella’s appointment signals high confidence in his leadership by Microsoft’s board. It’s unsurprising, as the company has prospered very much under his leadership. For reference sake, Microsoft’s current market cap of $1.9 trillion is 5x its market cap in 2014, the year Nadella took over.

• Under Nadella’s leadership, Microsoft has greatly expanded its non-Windows businesses such as cloud computing, gaming, and PC hardware. It’s made major acquisitions in that span including LinkedIn ($26bn), GitHub ($7.5bn), and gaming company ZeniMax Media ($7.5bn).

• Nadella is one of Microsoft’s top individual stockholders, with over 1.6 million shares worth over $400mn. At that, he definitely has skin in the game leading Microsoft now as both CEO and chairman.

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