Puneet Chandok Is The New Microsoft India Lead, Joins As Corporate VP

After a successful seven-year tenure, Anant Maheshwari has stepped down from his position as President of Microsoft India. In his place, Microsoft has officially appointed Puneet Chandok as the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft India and South Asia. Effective from September 1, Chandok will take the reins of Microsoft's operations across India and South Asia.

In a strategic move, Microsoft has consolidated its businesses across South Asia, which includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Chandok, prior to this appointment, served as the head of Amazon Web Services for India and South Asia at Amazon, a company that holds a commanding position in the cloud computing space. This is a sector that Microsoft, under CEO Satya Nadella's leadership, has been actively pursuing.

Interestingly, Anant Maheshwari had made significant progress in this area during his presidency, following in the footsteps of Bhaskar Pramanik. Like Maheshwari, Chandok also boasts a stint at McKinsey.

Ahmed Mazhari, President of Microsoft Asia, announced, “We are delighted to announce that Puneet will be joining Microsoft India.” He further added, “Puneet has a strong track record of building and growing technology businesses and leveraging technology to deliver impact and change. As we embrace an AI-led future, Puneet’s leadership will play a vital role in ensuring Microsoft’s ongoing success in South Asia, and I extend my thanks to Anant Maheshwari for setting us on a growth path.”

Before Chandok's appointment, Irina Ghose had ascended to the position of Managing Director for India, having previously served as the Chief Operating Officer.

Upon his appointment, Chandok stated, “I am inspired by Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more. As India expands its own digital public infrastructure, I believe that this mission is more relevant here than ever before, and I am thrilled to be joining the One Microsoft team to make this mission a reality.”

In other leadership changes, Navtej Bal has been promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer, while Venkat Krishnan has taken on the role of Executive Director for Public Sector Business.

Reflecting on his tenure, Anant Maheshwari said, “It has been a privilege to participate in Microsoft India’s remarkable growth over the last seven years. I am filled with gratitude for an exceptionally talented team with a strong set of leaders driving this momentum. The Microsoft India team has created a strong foundation of trust and entrepreneurial business models.”