If Microsoft chooses Cloud chief Satya Nadella as outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer's replacement, then the company's little known CFO, Amy Hood, is reportedly going to play a more prominent role at the company.

With Nadella as the CEO, activist shareholder ValueAct Capital, which now has a voice on the board, would press corporate management to increase shareholder value. It is here that Hood as a combination with the geek CEO would come into action, as she understands the financial community's language and knows how to communicate to those folks in a crisp, no-nonsense way that will be a big help when it comes time to make tough reorganisation decisions, Cnet reports.

According to the report, Hood has worked in the server and tools business at Goldman Sachs before joining Microsoft in 2002 and last May, she was promoted as the CFO. The report said that in the next 12 months Microsoft will face enormous pressure to contain, and even cut, costs once the Nokia acquisition closes and the company finds itself with approximately 130,000 people on the payroll and Hood's role as the CFO would become more prominent.