US technology major Microsoft has appointed Indian-origin executive Asha Sharma as Chief Executive Officer of its gaming division, at a time when the industry is witnessing rapid transformation driven by artificial intelligence.
According to Microsoft’s official website, Sharma holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
Before joining Microsoft, Sharma served as Chief Operating Officer at Instacart, where she had full profit and loss responsibility and oversaw product, design, data science, research, marketing, operations, customer support and new business initiatives.
Earlier, as Vice President of Product at Meta, she led key communication platforms including Messenger, Instagram Direct, Messenger Kids, remote presence (calling and video), and company-wide platform services.
Reacting to her appointment, Sharma said she was honoured to take on the role of CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
In a LinkedIn post, she noted that over the past 25 years, Xbox has grown to reach more than 500 million monthly active players worldwide and now includes nearly 40 studios across Activision, Bethesda, Blizzard, King, Mojang and Xbox Game Studios. The portfolio includes globally recognised franchises such as Halo, Minecraft, The Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Candy Crush and Fallout.
“I believe gaming is one of the most powerful art forms in the world. It brings people together and creates real opportunities for developers, artists, storytellers and entrepreneurs everywhere,” Sharma wrote. “The combination of creativity and technology — and the chance to help people make and share something meaningful — is why this work matters to me.”
She added that the future of the industry belongs to those who dare to build something surprising.
Commenting on the appointment, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said gaming remains central to the company’s consumer ambition.
“She brings deep experience building and scaling platforms, aligning business models to long-term value and operating at global scale,” Nadella said. “That will be critical as we lead our gaming business into its next era of growth.”