Asha Sharma named EVP and CEO of Microsoft Gaming
On Feb. 20, 2026, Satya Nadella announced that asha sharma will become Executive Vice President and CEO of Microsoft Gaming, reporting to him — a leadership change that puts an operating executive with consumer-platform experience at the top of Xbox as the company marks its 25th year.
Asha Sharma to lead Microsoft Gaming, with Matt Booty overseeing content
The move installs Matt Booty as Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, reporting to Asha Sharma, and formalizes control of a portfolio that Nadella said spans nearly 40 studios across Xbox, Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and King. Nadella named franchises under that umbrella — Halo, The Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Candy Crush and Fallout — as examples of the creative assets Booty will help shepherd.
What Asha Sharma’s background brings
The elevation follows two years at Microsoft for asha sharma and builds on prior leadership roles she held outside the company: she served as Chief Operating Officer at Instacart and was a Vice President at Meta. Nadella’s announcement emphasized her experience building and scaling services that reach billions of people and managing developer and consumer ecosystems at global scale.
Phil Spencer stepping back after decades at Microsoft
Nadella’s message acknowledged Phil Spencer’s long tenure: 38 years at Microsoft, including 12 years leading Gaming. Nadella thanked Spencer for expanding the business across PC, mobile and cloud and for leading major acquisitions. The transition notes say Spencer will continue working closely with Asha Sharma to ensure a smooth handoff, and Spencer will remain in an advisory role through the summer.
The internal communications framed the leadership changes as part of succession planning that began after Spencer shared last fall that he was thinking about stepping back. Alongside the CEO appointment, company emails also stated that Xbox President Sarah Bond has resigned.
Nadella’s announcement said Asha Sharma and Matt Booty together bring consumer product leadership and gaming depth to push platform innovation and the content pipeline forward. In her staff email, Sharma wrote that her first commitments include great games and a renewed focus on Xbox, and she promoted Booty in service of that content-first pledge.
With this management reshuffle in place as Microsoft celebrates the 25th year of Xbox, Nadella said the company will lean on its studios and platform to capture the next phase of growth. Phil Spencer will remain involved to support the transition, Matt Booty will lead content across the studio group, and Asha Sharma will now report directly to Nadella as the head of Microsoft Gaming.
The company’s next confirmed step is the formal handoff period: Spencer will work with Asha Sharma through the summer to complete the transition and support continuity across studios and franchises.
