“Less hair, same love for excel…” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s 32-year-old clip breaks the internet

Satya Nadella/ Twitter

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is going viral after a 32-year-old video of him demoing Microsoft Excel resurfaced online, and his reaction has the internet laughing.

The clip, originally shared by tech writer Trung Phan, shows a young, energetic Nadella on stage in 1993 explaining why Excel was such a powerful tool. With a full head of hair and the confidence of someone who truly loved spreadsheets, he described Excel as a “blinking canvas” that could turn simple lists into something meaningful. The video quickly spread across social platforms after being boosted by AI startup Bearly AI.

Nadella eventually joined the fun. On Thursday, he quote-tweeted the clip with two photos — one from 1993 and one from today — along with a simple, self-deprecating caption: “Less hair. Same love for Excel.” The tweet immediately exploded. The second photo shows Nadella at a modern Microsoft setup, wearing a green hoodie that says “Making Sheet Happen Since 1985,” a pun that fans instantly fell in love with. On the desk beside him are a giant monitor, a Surface laptop, and even an Xbox controller, which only added to the amusement.

Within hours, the post had millions of views and thousands of replies. People begged Microsoft to release the hoodie as official merchandise. Others joked that Nadella might be closing massive cloud deals while casually playing Call of Duty.

The resurfaced clip also included a recent quote from Nadella, where he explained why Excel has remained relevant for 40 years. He said its strength comes from the simplicity of lists and tables, the flexibility of the software, and something most people don’t realize — Excel is Turing complete. According to Nadella, it is one of the most approachable programming environments in the world because people often end up coding in it without realizing they are doing so.

The lighthearted moment arrives at a time when Microsoft is pushing deeper into AI by adding Copilot and other intelligent features across Excel and the Office suite. But the viral video shows that even after decades, Nadella still has a soft spot for the tool that helped shape his early career.

As one user commented, “From demo guy in ’93 to CEO in 2025, he’s still making sheet happen.”