Microsoft Corp has named Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella as its new chairman, succeeding John Thompson. Nadella was unanimously elected head of the Microsoft board of directors.

His latest Twitter bio informed about this development. 

Nadella, who took over as CEO in 2014 from Steve Ballmer, is credited for many noteworthy acquisitions- LinkedIn, Nuance Communications and ZeniMax.

The company also informed that Thompson, who took over as chairman from the software giant's co-founder Bill Gates in 2014, will serve as lead independent director.

The top-level executive change comes just over a year after Gates stepped down from the board, saying he would focus on philanthropic works of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the world's biggest charities.