On Friday, Satya Nadella answered the recent news queries about Bill Gates, the company’s founder’s conduct, which raised questions about the company’s workplace culture.
Satya Nadella referred to the investigation in 2000 when Microsoft looked into the affair between Bill Gates and an employee. This situation was covered after the news coverage of the divorce of Bill Gates and Melinda Gates, his wife.
Reportedly, according to the representatives of Bill Gates, the relationship with the employee happened when he was Microsoft’s chairman of the Board and chief software designer.
On Friday, in an interview with CBNC, Nadella said:
“The Microsoft of 2023 is very different from the Microsoft of 2000…To me and everyone at Microsoft, our focus on our culture, diversity, and inclusion, in particular, the everyday experience of our people, is super important; it’s a huge priority.”
The interview took place after many accusations and reports took place regarding the workplace behavior of Bill Gates at Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Furthermore, on Sunday, it was confirmed by a Microsoft spokesperson that the company, in the latter half of 2019, had concerns over the intimate relationship Bill Gates initiated with an employee of the company in 2000.
The spokesperson said:
“A committee of the Board reviewed the concern, aided by an outside law firm, to conduct a thorough investigation…Throughout the investigation, Microsoft provided extensive support to the employee who raised the concern.”
In early 2020, Bill Gates left the Board of Microsoft. However, a spokesperson for Bill Gates said that his decision was unrelated to the investigation. When he left the Board, the company said he would continue working as the technical advisor. It has yet to be whether Bill Gates still holds this position or not.
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for Bill Gates, in a Wall Street Journal statement, said:
“There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably…Bill’s decision to transition off the Board was unrelated to this matter. He had expressed an interest in spending more time on his philanthropy starting several years earlier.”
Moreover, on Friday, Nadella said that the review of concern that the company had nearly 20 years speaks about the culture of the company.
He said:
“Anyone can raise any issue, even from 20 years ago. We will investigate it and take action to the satisfaction of the person who raised it; we have no forced arbitrations…I feel that we have created an environment that allows us to drive everyday improvement in our diversity and inclusion culture, which I think is a super important thing.”
Furthermore, he added that the company put in a policy in 2006 regarding the employees and workplace relationships.
“Gates’s spokeswoman, Bridgitt Arnold, sent an email statement, saying, “They had an amicable ending to an affair almost 20 years ago.””
Nadella said:
“Overall, the power dynamic in the workplace cannot be abused in any form…The most important thing is to make sure that everybody is comfortable in raising any issues they see and for us to be able to investigate it fully.”
Does Bill Gates care about his employees?
Bill Gates, a humanitarian, cared for his employees, his business, and the world. He established the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, an organization that concentrates on saving lives and enhancing global health to contribute to society.
