Tomorrow night President Barack Obama will deliver his final State of the Union address before both the legislative and judicial branches of the Federal Government and honored guests. It will be one of his last chances in office to define the narrative of his legacy as the 44th President as he is expected to speak on the economy, health care, national security, and gun policy.
One of the guests who will be there to witness his final SOTU Address will be Microsoft’s commander in chief, Satya Nadella. Bloomberg is reporting that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will be one of First Lady Michelle Obama’s 23 guests for the final address. As Margaret Talev of Bloomberg notes, the guest box takes on an added significance in the President’s final address. The invite list is comprised of individuals who either helped shaped the president’s political career and or reflect how the President sees the future of the nation unfolding beyond their final term.
A statement released from Microsoft said:
“Satya is honored to attend the 2016 State of the Union and learn more about the president’s vision for America’s future.”
Nadella and his tenure as CEO have reflected many of the issues faced by the Obama administration, making him an interesting choice as a guest. Under his watch, Microsoft has sought to be more environmentally responsible, promoted more women to higher level positions including electing new female Board members, and of course been at the forefront of many mainstream political discussions regarding technology.
Microsoft and Nadella have been involved in discussions over digital privacy in the wake of NSA leaks by former US contractor Edward Snowden and combatting the Islamic State’s social media presence. Microsoft is also currently amidst a significant legal battle with the US Government over access to the content of users’ private emails stored in its offshore data centers. As an immigrant himself, Nadella also represents the best of sound immigration policy; an emerging key issue of the 2016 Presidential election.
President Obama’s State of the Union Address will begin tomorrow at 9 PM EST/ 6 PM PST.
