Microsoft used to be an undeniable giant. But with fierce competition from Apple, the company has struggled, and following the retirement of Steve Ballmer, the company faced an existential crisis. Satya Nadella, who took over in February, has been trying to turn the one-step-behind company into a place where innovation can flourish again—exemplified by the companywide “Hackathon” he set up last week, encouraging employees to band together to work on new projects by freely exchanging ideas across departments. If there’s one thing Microsoft could use right now, it’s new ideas. He also oversaw the company’s recent layoffs, totaling 18,000. On first blush that is a bad look, but good CEOs must make tough decisions like that. It’s a little premature to proffer the “best” title to Nadella, yes, but we’re hopeful that it will take.

Read all of our picks for People & Places, and explore the rest of this year’s edition of Best of Seattle.