On Monday, Satya Nadella, the chief executive of Microsoft Corporation and his wife Anu said that their 26-year old son Zain Nadella had passed away. He had been suffering from cerebral palsy since his birth. Nadella informed his executive staff through an email. Zain died on Monday, February 28.

Nadella asked his executives to remember the family in their thoughts and prayers and also asked for space so that they could grieve privately.

Nadella took over as the chief executive of Microsoft Corp. in 2014. He has used his and the company’s talents to focus on designing products that help users who have disabilities. He has spoken of how he learnt so much as they raised and supported Zain as he suffered from the debilitating condition.

Last year Satya and Anu Nadella joined together with the Children’s Hospital in Seattle to establish the Zain Nadella Endowed Chair in Pediatric Neurosciences at the Seattle Children’s Center for Integrative Brain Research, since he received most of his treatment in the hospital.

Jeff Sperring, who is the CEO of Children’s Hospital, in Seattle wrote a message to his Board which stated that Zain would be remembered for his “eclectic taste in music” as well as for his “sunny smile.” He added that Zain had brought “immense joy” to his family and to all those who loved him. This message was shared with Microsoft executives.

In 2017, in a blog post Satya Nadella said that Zain had been born in August 1996 and had cerebral palsy from his birth. He spoke in detail about cerebral palsy as well as the effect it had on both him and his wife.

Nadella said that he wouldn’t claim that he was born with empathy but life had taught him that it was his “pursuit every year” to have a “growing sense of empathy for people around him.”

R.I.P. Zain

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