Microsoft on Thursday announced that Himani Agrawal has been elevated as Chief Operating Officer (COO), Microsoft India & South Asia. It also announced that Nitin Mittal joins as the Industry Leader, Digital Natives, India & South Asia, and Aparna Kondaboina takes up the role of Head – Human Resources, Microsoft Customers and Partners Solutions (MCAPS), India and South Asia.
These appointments come at a critical time in Microsoft’s 50-year history, India’s AI journey and the company’s role in putting AI in the hands of everyone, Microsoft said in a release.
With over 24 years of experience, Nitin brings a track record of building digital platforms across sectors including finance, retail, e-commerce, and media. He has held leadership roles at Zee Entertainment, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), and was the founder of SOLV, a B2B platform for SMEs.
Himani will be responsible for driving revenue growth by aligning business goals across the organisation, focusing on strategic innovation, business simplification and overall operations for the company in the region. Himani has held various leadership roles in the organisation – the most recent one being Chief Partner Officer in the country.
With over 23 years of experience, Aparna held various leadership roles at Microsoft in India and USA. In her new role, Aparna will lead the HR strategy to improve talent and culture outcomes within the commercial business division.
Puneet Chandok, President, Microsoft India & South Asia, said, “Each of these leaders will strengthen our leadership bench with their deep functional depth and business acumen to our organisation. Nitin’s extensive experience in building digital platforms will be invaluable as we continue to innovate and expand our digital native initiatives. I am also particularly proud of our seasoned women leaders taking up the strategic roles to deliver exceptional value to our customers and partners.”
These appointments and elevations also come at a time when reports suggest that the company is implementing new and enhanced tools to accelerate high performance and address low performance. Reports added that the new policies have introduced a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) where employees can either improve or opt for a voluntary separation package.