Indian-origin executive Asha Sharma named Microsoft Gaming CEO; all you need to know about her

Microsoft on Friday appointed Indian-origin executive Asha Sharma as executive vice president and CEO of its gaming division, marking a leadership milestone in Xbox history.

Asha Sharma will replace long-time Phil Spencer, who is retiring after 38 years at the software maker.

President Sarah Bond will also leave. Xbox game studios chief Matt Booty will become chief content officer, reporting to Sharma.

Asha Sharma said it will refocus on the Xbox console, aiming to “re-engage with our core Xbox fans and gamers.”

“We will strengthen our studios, invest in iconic franchises and support bold new ideas. We will take risks. We will enter new categories and markets where we can add real value based on what players care about most,” he said.

The new Microsoft Gaming chief says he won’t be chasing short-term efficiency amid the AI boom.

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“As monetization and AI evolve and influence this future, we will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI attacks. Games are and always will be art, crafted by humans and created with the most innovative technology provided by us,” he said.

Sharma’s appointment comes at a time when Microsoft Gaming is grappling with cost pressures from tariffs, strong competition and uncertain consumer spending, leading to price increases on Xbox hardware.

But he wants to reverse some of the slides.

Here’s everything you need to know about Asha Sharma

Who is Asha Sharma, the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming?

Asha Sharma, who is of Indian origin, is the newest addition to the global senior leaders to come from this country. Prior to taking on the role, he led product development for Microsoft’s CoreAI Product.

In his previous role, Sharma oversaw teams and technologies that power AI across Microsoft and its enterprise customers, including critical infrastructure, underlying models, and end-to-end toolchains to build, manage, and deploy AI and agent applications.

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Before joining Microsoft, Asha Sharma served as Chief Operating Officer at Instacart. In this role, he oversaw product, design, data science, research, marketing, operations, customer support and new business initiatives. According to his LinkedIn profile, he played a key role in the company’s IPO and focus on profitability.

Sharma was vice president of product and engineering at Meta from 2017 to 2021. In this role, he 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 worked in marketing at Microsoft for two years before leaving in 2013, rejoining the Satya Nadella-led company two years ago as head of its Core AI product.

Although it is stated in his LinkedIn profile that he continued his higher education in the USA, there is little information about the family and background of the Microsoft Gaming CEO of Indian origin. He will report to Satya Nadella.

We will strengthen our studios, invest in iconic franchises and support bold new ideas.

Sharma holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Business.

Speaking about himself, Nadella said that Sharma brings “deep experience in building and growing platforms, aligning business models for long-term value, and operating on a global scale, which will be critical in leading our gaming business into the next era of growth.”