Microsoft Xbox CEO Asha Sharma Overhauls Leadership Team
CNBC reported Tuesday that Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has announced a sweeping leadership overhaul at Microsoft’s gaming division. Sharma, who took the role in February, said the unit moves too slowly and spends too little time with developers and players.
Sharma Signals a New Direction for Xbox
In an internal memo seen by CNBC, Sharma wrote that Xbox must change how it operates and organises across its platform. She said the team currently turns inward rather than engaging the gaming community. The division also lacks depth in certain core areas, she added. Sharma’s four-word signal — “we need to evolve” — framed the reshuffle as urgent rather than routine.
Most incoming leaders are drawn from Microsoft’s CoreAI group, where Sharma previously served as president of product. That unit oversees developer tools including GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio Code. Jared Palmer, a CoreAI vice president, will move to Xbox to handle product, engineering, and developer tooling. Tim Allen, who led design at CoreAI and GitHub, will take over Xbox design. Jonathan McKay, formerly a growth head at OpenAI’s ChatGPT, will lead Xbox growth. Evan Chaki will run a forward-deployed engineering team focused on removing repetitive work. David Schloss, a senior director from Instacart, will oversee Xbox subscriptions and cloud.
A String of Revenue Declines Sets the Stage
The management shake-up follows persistent financial pressure. Xbox has posted gaming revenue declines in four of the past six quarters, CNBC reported. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella acknowledged last week that the company needs to rebuild consumer enthusiasm across Xbox and other consumer-facing products. On the hardware side, Nintendo’s Switch lineup and Sony’s PlayStation 5 both outsold Microsoft’s Xbox Series consoles in the first quarter, according to industry tracker VGChartz. Sharma moved in April to reduce Game Pass subscription prices in a bid to attract new players.
Two Long-Serving Executives Step Aside
The overhaul also means departures for two veterans who each spent 24 years at Microsoft. Kevin Gammill, a corporate vice president for Xbox user experience and publishing platforms, is leaving his role entirely. Roanne Sones, who led Xbox devices and ecosystem, will take a leave of absence following this summer before transitioning to an advisory position. Their exits mark a clean break from the leadership era defined by former gaming head Phil Spencer, who retired in February as Sharma stepped in.
Sharma came to Microsoft in 2024 after senior roles at Meta and Instacart, giving her a consumer-product background that differs sharply from Xbox’s historically gaming-first culture. Whether that perspective accelerates the turnaround remains to be seen.
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