Trump honours Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella with top technology honour amid immigration scrutiny

On a day when Microsoft faced scrutiny over its immigration practices, CEO Satya Nadella was being honoured at the White House for his contributions to America's technology industry. US President Donald Trump presented Nadella with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation during the ‘A New Golden Age’ summit at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC. Trump praised Nadella's more than three decades at Microsoft, highlighting his role in transforming the company and advancing its technology.

Trump praises Nadella's Microsoft journey

During the ceremony, Trump highlighted Nadella's long career at Microsoft and credited him with helping reshape the technology giant. Before taking over as CEO in 2014, Nadella led several key divisions, including business services, research and development, and cloud computing. Microsoft's cloud platform subsequently became a critical foundation for products and services used by billions of people around the world.

Trump also recognised Nadella's efforts to expand Microsoft's presence in artificial intelligence and what he described as ‘super intelligence’. "Satya, we are honored to give you the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. It is so well deserved congratulations," Trump said. Nadella was among several prominent technology executives recognised at the White House ceremony. Trump also presented the National Medal of Science to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su.

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Immigrant tech leaders honoured at the White House

The ceremony also highlighted the contributions of immigrant leaders to America's technology sector. Five of the six technology executives being honoured are immigrants. Musk was born in South Africa, Brin in Russia, while Huang and Su were born in Taiwan. Nadella moved to the United States from India.

Trump also presented the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, who was born in Texas. The recognition comes as Microsoft faces scrutiny over its immigration practices, placing the spotlight on the broader role of foreign-born professionals in the American technology industry. Nadella's award recognises his decades-long career at Microsoft, where he has overseen the company's evolution across cloud computing, enterprise software and artificial intelligence.