Former Microsoft intern, now CEO of an AMC, praises Satya Nadella for his ‘wartime leadership’

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been widely lauded for his leadership during the blindsided crisis in OpenAI, but more specifically by a former Microsoft intern, who herself is the head of one of the fastest growing asset management companies. Calling Nadella’s handling of the OpenAI crisis “wartime management”, she said that no management class can teach this. 

The former Microsoft intern is none other than Managing Director and Chief Executive Editor of Edelweiss Asset Management Ltd, Radhika Gupta. Gupta was a Program Manager intern over two summers in 2003 and 2004 for Microsoft Office, and was responsible for conceptualizing and designing new features. 

“And in the last 5 days, we saw wartime leadership from you Satya that no management class can teach and every CEO can learn from.Thank you, A former Microsoft intern,” said Gupta, quoting a social media post by Nadella, where he said that in the last five days – since the entire OpenAI saga unfolded – he saw people across the company remaining calm and resolute in driving their mission despite the uncertainties around – a fallout of the board firing CEO Sam Altman, who is possibly the most recognised name in AI currently. 

Nadella, whose Microsoft has invested billions in OpenAI’s for-profit wing, batted for the return of Sam Altman, as per reports. Initially, Nadella was reported to have shown his support for Altman and whatever he decided to do next. As from multiple reports, Microsoft and Nadella were kept in the dark about Altman’s firing. 

Soon after Altman’s departure was announced, Nadella jumped into action and soon enough, announced that Sam Altman and the company’s co-founder Greg Brockman would join Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team. Nadella also hinted that the duo could be joined by “colleagues”, indicating that Microsoft would absorb OpenAI staff that planned to leave the company in a show of support for the ousted CEO. This would also mean that Microsoft would hold on to the OpenAI talent and prevent them from joining rivals Google and Meta. 

But in yet another twist in this long-winding saga, Sam Altman announced that he would return to OpenAI with new board members. He said that when he decided to join Microsoft, it had appeared to be the best path for himself and the team, but now looked forward to returning to OpenAI with Satya Nadella’s support and a new board, further fostering a “strong partnership” with Microsoft. 

“We are encouraged by the changes to the OpenAI board. We believe this is a first essential step on a path to more stable, well-informed, and effective governance. Sam, Greg, and I have talked and agreed they have a key role to play along with the OAI leadership team in ensuring OAI continues to thrive and build on its mission. We look forward to building on our strong partnership and delivering the value of this next generation of AI to our customers and partners,” Satya Nadella had responded, putting to rest the boardroom drama. 

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