New Microsoft CEO faces challenges in mobile, investor relations

A man is silhouetted against a video screen with the Microsoft logo in the background as he poses with a Nokia Lumia 820 smartphone in this photo illustration taken in the central Bosnian town of Zenica September 3, 2013. Photo courtesy of reuters

Microsoft Corp prepares to unveil insider Satya Nadella as its new chief executive, investors and analysts are weighing how effective the 22-year veteran will be in re-igniting the company's mobile ambitions and satisfying Wall Street's hunger for cash.

The world's biggest software firm faces a slow erosion of its PC-centric Windows and Office franchises and needs to somehow challenge Apple Inc and Google Inc in the new realm of mobile computing. At the same time, some investors are campaigning for retrenchment and a bigger cut of the company's massive cash pile.