Asha Sharma Appointed CEO of Microsoft Gaming

Microsoft has named Indian-origin executive Asha Sharma as the new Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of its gaming division. She will succeed Phil Spencer, who is set to retire after nearly four decades with Microsoft Gaming.

Announcing the leadership change, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said the company sees gaming as central to its consumer strategy. “I am long on gaming and its role at the center of our consumer ambition. As we look ahead, I’m excited to share that Asha Sharma will become Executive Vice President and CEO of Microsoft Gaming, reporting to me,” Nadella said.

Asha Sharma is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and brings nearly 15 years of leadership experience across technology, product, and operations. According to her LinkedIn profile, she began her career at Microsoft in 2011 in the marketing division.

After two years, she moved to Porch Group, where she served as Chief Operating Officer and played a key role in scaling the company, leading functions across product, engineering, sales, marketing, and operations. She was also part of the company’s $1 billion public debut and served earlier as Chief Marketing Officer and as a board member from 2015 to 2022.

In 2017, Sharma joined Meta as Vice President of Product and Engineering. During her tenure, she led product teams across Messenger and Instagram Direct and served as General Manager for calling, video, and kids’ experiences. She had also worked as Director of Social Impact Products.

She later joined Instacart as Chief Operating Officer, where she spent three years helping steer the company to IPO and profitability. At Instacart, Sharma oversaw a $30 billion-plus GMV P&L, managing product, design, data science, marketing, operations, customer support, and new business initiatives.

In 2024, Sharma rejoined Microsoft as President, Core AI Product, leading the company’s AI models, applications, agents, responsible AI initiatives, and developer tools for customers worldwide. She had earlier served as Corporate Vice President and Head of Product for Microsoft’s AI Platform.

Her promotion now places her at the helm of Microsoft Gaming, including the Xbox business. Sharma also serves on the boards of Coupang and The Home Depot.

As part of the restructuring, Matt Booty has been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, reporting to Sharma. In a blog post, Microsoft said that under Booty’s leadership, Microsoft Gaming has expanded to nearly 40 studios across Xbox, Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and King, home to major franchises such as Halo, The Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, .

In her message to employees, Sharma emphasized continuity and evolution. “We will recommit to our core Xbox fans and players who have invested with us for the past 25 years. Gaming now lives across devices, not within the limits of any single piece of hardware,” she said.