Microsoft on Friday named Indian-origin executive Asha Sharma as the executive vice president and CEO of its gaming division, marking a milestone in the leadership front of Xbox’s history.
Asha Sharma will replace long-time head Phil Spencer as he is retiring after 38 years at the software maker.
President Sarah Bond will also leave. Xbox games studios chief Matt Booty will become chief content officer, reporting to Sharma.
Asha Sharma said she would renew focus on the Xbox console, aiming to “recommit to our core Xbox fans and players.”
“We will empower our studios, invest in iconic franchises, and back bold new ideas. We will take risks. We will enter new categories and markets where we can add real value, grounded in what players care about most,” she said.
The new Microsoft Gaming chief said that she will not run after short-term efficiency amid AI boom.
“As monetization and AI evolve and influence this future, we will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop. Games are and always will be art, crafted by humans, and created with the most innovative technology provided by us,” she said.
Sharma’s appointment comes at a time when Microsoft Gaming has been grappling with tariff-induced cost pressures, strong competition and uncertain consumer spending, prompting price rises on Xbox hardware.
However, she wants to reverse some of the slide.
Here is everything you need to know about Asha Sharma
Who is Asha Sharma, new CEO of Microsoft Gaming?
Indian-origin Asha Sharma is the newest member of the global C-suite leaders who are from the country. Before assuming the role, she was leading product development for Microsoft’s CoreAI Product.
In her previous role, Sharma oversaw the teams and technologies that power AI across Microsoft and its enterprise customers including critical infrastructure, foundation models, and end-to-end toolchains for building, managing, and deploying AI and agentic applications.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Asha Sharma served as Chief Operating Officer of Instacart. In that role, she was overseeing product, design, data science, research, marketing, operations, customer support and new business initiatives. She played a key role in that company’s IPO and focus on profitability, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Earlier between 2017 and 2021, Sharma was the VP product and engineering at Meta. In that role, she oversaw Messenger, Instagram Direct, Messenger Kids, Remote Presence (calling and video) and company-wide platform services.
Asha Sharma serves on the boards of The Home Depot and Coupang. Earlier in her career, she spent two years in marketing at Microsoft before leaving in 2013 and rejoined the Satya Nadella-led company two years ago as president Core AI product.
While her LinkedIn profile mentions she pursued higher education in the US, there is little information about the Indian-origin Microsoft Gaming CEO’s family and background. She will report to Satya Nadella.
We will empower our studios, invest in iconic franchises, and back bold new ideas.
Sharma holds a Bachelor of Science in Business degree from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
Speaking about her, Nadella said Sharma “brings deep experience building and growing platforms, aligning business models to long-term value, and operating at global scale, which will be critical in leading our gaming business into its next era of growth.”
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