The Georgia Institute of Technology, on behalf of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, will award an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree to Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. An honorary doctorate is the most significant honor the Institute bestows on an individual.

The degree will be awarded during a campus visit Thursday, Jan. 25. Nadella will participate in a series of small meet-and-greets culminating in the honorary hooding presentation and a fireside chat in the Atlantic Theater, John Lewis Student Center.

“Satya Nadella has led a remarkable transformation of one of the most iconic and impactful companies of our time and has overseen the creation of an unprecedented $2.45 trillion in shareholder value,” said Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera. “Microsoft’s partnership with Georgia Tech has led to extraordinary opportunities for our students and faculty members, both in research and in their careers. We are grateful for his leadership and ongoing support of the Institute, and look forward to honoring him and hosting him on campus.” 

Nadella grew up in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad and earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Mangalore University. After moving to the U.S., he earned a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Nadella was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems before joining Microsoft in 1992. While working full-time at Microsoft, he earned a master’s in business administration from the University of Chicago. He held leadership roles across the company in both enterprise and consumer business, including serving as executive vice president of the cloud and enterprise group. In 2014, he was named Microsoft CEO, the third person to hold the office in the company’s nearly 40-year history, after co-founder Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.

Nadella serves on the board of trustees of the University of Chicago, and he is on the Starbucks board of directors. He is an avid reader of American and Indian poetry, and he has a passion for cricket. He and his wife, Anupama, are part of the ownership group of Seattle Sounders FC, a Major League Soccer club. He is a civic leader, supporting and amplifying important work in fields such as medicine, autism research, and disability inclusion.

In 2018, Nadella was a Time 100 honoree. In 2019, he was named Financial Times Person of the Year and Fortune magazine Businessperson of the Year. In 2022, he was awarded by the government of India the Padma Bhushan, one of the country’s highest civilian awards.

As a top recruiter at the Institute, Microsoft employs approximately 2,000 Georgia Tech alumni. The company’s name tops a building just north of campus in Atlantic Station. Under Nadella’s leadership, Microsoft has deepened its relationship with Georgia Tech, ultimately benefiting Atlanta and the state of Georgia.