Microsoft announces president Brad Smith as its vice chair

Microsoft's board of directors announced that it approved president and chief legal officer Brad Smith as a vice chair of the company. In his new role, Smith will continue to report to Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella. Earlier this year, Nadella was named Microsoft's board chairman. Smith has been with Microsoft since 1993 and is one of the company's top executives. He will continue to be the company's president in addition to acting in his new role.

"This reflects the unique leadership role that Brad plays for the company, our board of directors and me, with governments and other external stakeholders around the world," said Nadella.

Smith's bio on Microsoft's website explains that "he plays a key role in spearheading the company's work on critical issues involving the intersection of technology and society, including cybersecurity, privacy, artificial intelligence, environmental sustainability, human rights, immigration and philanthropy."

In his role as company president, Smith has been involved in major policy discussions ranging from foreign governments to sustainability. Smith is also Microsoft's top lawyer. Earlier this year, Smith testified at a U.S. antitrust hearing. He also weighed in on the recent SolarWinds attack.

Alongside the announcement of Smith's new role, Microsoft's board of directors also announced a new share repurchase program. The program authorizes up to $60 billion in share repurchases. It does not have an announced expiration date but can be terminated at any time. Microsoft's last repurchase program was announced in 2019 and was for $40 billion.

The board of directors also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share, which is an 11% increase over the previous quarter.