Who is Asha Sharma? Microsoft Gaming’s new CEO to lead Xbox

Microsoft on Friday named Indian-origin executive Asha Sharma as executive vice president and chief executive of its gaming division, marking a leadership milestone for Xbox.

Sharma will replace long-time head Phil Spencer, who is retiring after 38 years at the company. Sarah Bond will also step down, while studios chief Matt Booty will become chief content officer, reporting to Sharma.

Renewed focus on core gaming

Sharma said she would renew focus on the Xbox console and “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.

AI approach and industry challenges

She added that the company would not prioritise short-term efficiency amid the AI boom.

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

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Her appointment comes as Microsoft Gaming faces tariff-driven cost pressures, strong competition and uncertain consumer spending, factors that have prompted price increases for Xbox hardware. She said she aims to reverse some of that slide.

Who is Asha Sharma?

Asha Sharma is among the latest Indian-origin leaders to join the global C-suite. Before this role, she led product development for Microsoft’s CoreAI Product, overseeing teams and technologies powering AI across the company and its enterprise clients, including infrastructure, foundation models and end-to-end AI toolchains.

Before rejoining Microsoft two years ago, she served as chief operating officer at Instacart, where she oversaw product, design, data science, research, marketing, operations, customer support and new business initiatives, and played a key role in the company’s IPO and profitability push.

From 2017 to 2021, she was vice president for product and engineering at Meta, overseeing Messenger, Instagram Direct, Messenger Kids, Remote Presence and company-wide platform services.

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Sharma also serves on the boards of The Home Depot and Coupang. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing at Microsoft before leaving in 2013 and returning as president of CoreAI Product.