Microsoft has announced a leadership change within its gaming division, naming Asha Sharma as Executive Vice President and CEO of Microsoft Gaming, effective February 23, 2026. She succeeds Phil Spencer in the role and will report directly to Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft.
The announcement was shared internally by Nadella on February 20, 2026, highlighting Sharma’s background in scaling global consumer platforms. Prior to returning to Microsoft in 2024, Sharma served as Chief Operating Officer at Instacart and held a Vice President position at Meta, where she oversaw product and engineering for Messenger and Instagram Direct.
Sharma, who was born in Racine, Wisconsin in 1989, earned a Bachelor of Science in business from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management in 2011. Her early career included roles at S.C. Johnson and Porch, where she served as COO until 2017 before joining Facebook (now Meta). At Instacart, she helped guide the company through its initial public offering in September 2023, during which her equity stake was valued at approximately $19 million.
Alongside Sharma’s appointment, Microsoft confirmed that Matt Booty will assume the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, reporting to Sharma. Booty’s leadership has overseen the expansion of Microsoft Gaming to include nearly 40 studios across Xbox, Bethesda, Activision Blizzard, and King, managing franchises such as Halo, The Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Candy Crush, and Fallout.
Nadella emphasized that the leadership transition comes as Xbox celebrates its 25th anniversary, noting the platform now reaches over 500 million monthly active users and remains a top publisher across all platforms. He expressed confidence that Sharma and Booty together combine consumer product expertise with deep gaming industry knowledge to drive the next phase of innovation in hardware, content, and community engagement.
The change reflects Microsoft’s ongoing effort to align its gaming business with broader consumer ambitions while continuing to invest in first-party content and platform development. Sharma’s return to Microsoft marks her second tenure at the company, having previously worked there from 2011 to 2013 in a marketing role before departing for Porch.
