CREDIT : STEPHEN BRASHEAR / GETTY
EXECUTIVE INSIGHT
Microsoft annual shareholders meeting from November 2018 , CFO Amy Hood answers a shareholders question
Her aptitude with numbers was clear early on .
A member of her school maths team , she studied economics at Duke University , rather than taking an accounting course – the typical choice for future CFOs . She worked at Goldman Sachs for eight years , during which time she also completed her MBA at Harvard . Amy quit Goldman Sachs with no other job lined up .
She once said : “ Every job I took , I was deeply uncomfortable in terms of feeling unqualified . Every step , every risk I took , built confidence .”
However , in 2002 she joined Microsoft and quickly rose up the ranks , working in the investor relations team and then as Chief of Staff in its Server and Tools business . Along the way , she met now-CEO Satya Nadella , whose career was also rapidly progressing within the company .
As a member of Microsoft ’ s business division – which looked after the firm ’ s productivity applications and services , including Microsoft Office 365 , Exchange , SharePoint , Dynamics CRM and Dynamics ERP – Amy assisted in leading the transition to the firm ’ s Office 365 service .
She also played a pivotal role in the successful acquisitions of communication platforms , Skype and Yammer – now Viva Engage .
She was appointed as Peter Klein ’ s replacement as CFO in 2013 , towards the end of Steve Ballmer ’ s tenure as CEO , and has continued in the role ever since .
164 January 2025