Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella sent a memo to employees condemning the violence at the white-nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend.
“There is no place in our society for the bias, bigotry and senseless violence we witnessed this weekend in Virginia provoked by white nationalists,” Nadella said in the note, sent to workers at the Redmond-based company Monday.
He said Microsoft values diversity, and asked employees to empathize with “the hurt happening around us.”
“It is an especially important time to continue to be connected with people, and listen and learn from each other’s experiences,” Nadella said in the memo, obtained earlier by news site Quartz.
His note comes as several high-profile executives, including the leaders of Intel and drugmaker Merck, quit a government advisory panel, some in protest of President Donald Trump’s initially subdued response to the violence.
Nadella was among a group of technology executives invited to a June panel of a task force on the tech sector, sitting by Trump’s side at the White House gathering. It’s unclear if Nadella committed to further participation in the government-staffed American Technology Council. Microsoft declined to comment.
Nadella’s memo continued: “As I’ve said, across Microsoft, we will stand together with those who are standing for positive change in the communities where we live, work, and serve. Together, we must embrace our shared humanity, and aspire to create a society that is filled with respect, empathy and opportunity for all.”
