Satya Nadella On Fatherhood: How Wife Anupama Helped Him Become A Better Father

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella welcomed his son Zain to his family in 1996. He was 29 and his wife Anupama was 25 years old. Zain Nadella was born with cerebral palsy. He passed away at the age of 26. Satya Nadella credits his wife Anupama Nadella for inspiring him to be a better father.

Zain Nadella, the eldest child of Microsoft CEO Satya and his wife Anupama Nadella, passed away at the age of 26. He was born with cerebral palsy. Nadellas welcomed Zain when Satya was aspiring to become an engineer and Anupama was an aspiring architect.

Ever since Nadella took over as CEO of Microsoft in 2014, he has worked towards making more accessible products for people with disabilities. Earlier in 2021, Nadellas teamed up with the Children's Hospital where Zain was receiving much of his treatment and established Zain Nadella Endowed Chair in Pediatric Neurosciences for Seattle Children's Center for Integrative Brain Research.

Satya Nadella on fatherhood: Anupama Taught Him To Be More Empathetic

In a LinkedIn post, Satya Nadella wrote that his wife bears empathy for others which inspired him to become a better father. He described wife Anupama Nadella as "an amazing woman, mother and partner". He finds it inspiring that Anu, as he calls her lovingly, and her willingness to share her journey as a mother of a child with a disability has motivated other such parents as well.

Fathering a child with special needs was a turning point in his life

"It has helped me better understand the journey of people with disabilities. It has shaped my personal passion for and philosophy of connecting new ideas to empathy for others." He said referring to his experience of being a father to a child with disabilities. "And it is why I am deeply committed to pushing the bounds on what love and compassion combined with human ingenuity and passion to have impact can accomplish with my colleagues at Microsoft," he further mentioned as he aspires to develop more technology to help people with disabilities.