Satya Nadella to be named Microsoft chief - reports

Bill Gates could also be standing aside from role as chairman, according to Bloomberg story

Microsoft is preparing to make cloud and enterprise boss Satya Nadella its chief executive, according to reports, which claim Microsoft founder Bill Gates could hand over his role as chairman at the same time.

According to sources familiar with the matter talking to Bloomberg, Microsoft is chewing over the idea of handing Gates' current role over to board member and leader of the CEO hunt, John Thompson. If this were to happen, Gates would remain involved with the firm but possibly in a product-development capacity.

Throughout the search to replace outgoing boss Steve Ballmer, concerns have been raised as to his and Gates' continued influence over the firm, with some claiming a new leader might be put off by their involvement.

Before Christmas last year, Microsoft said it was planning to make the announcement on its new chief executive in "early 2014".

Nadella (pictured) has been named as a potential frontrunner for the job since the search started, along with Skype boss Tony Bates. External candidates such as Ford boss Alan Mulally and Ericsson leader Hans Vestburg were also rumoured to be linked with the role but both publically ruled themselves out of the running.