Microsoft appoints Puneet Chandok as Vice President of Microsoft India and South Asia

Effective September 1, 2023, Chandok will assume the operational responsibilities from Anant Maheshwari

New Delhi: Tech giant Microsoft on Tuesday announced the appointment of Puneet Chandok as Corporate Vice President of Microsoft India and South Asia.

Effective September 1, 2023, Chandok will assume the operational responsibilities from Anant Maheshwari, Microsoft said in a release.

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“Supported by a strong leadership team, Puneet will oversee the integration of Microsoft’s businesses across South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, further boosting the company’s presence in the region, while deepening its focus on key industries through a customer-centric approach with generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) at its core,” it added.

Chandok’s appointment comes at a time of continued market expansion for Microsoft as a leading player in cloud technology and digital innovation.

With the largest partner ecosystem globally, including a 17,000-strong network in India generating high cloud revenue, and new investments in local infrastructure including the intent to establish a new data centre in Hyderabad, Microsoft’s growth aligns with India’s emergence as a global innovation hub, the company said.

Microsoft said it remains deeply committed to serving the market with transformative digital technology to power India’s economic progress and its inclusive growth agenda.

“We are delighted to announce that Puneet will be joining Microsoft India,” Ahmed Mazhari, President of Microsoft Asia, said as he cited Chandok’s 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,” Mazhari said.

Chandok said he is inspired by Microsoft’s mission to empower people and organisations 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,” Chandok added.

Puneet joins Microsoft from AWS, where he led the company’s India and South Asia business, working closely with enterprises, digital businesses, startups, and SMBs to help them reduce technical debt, bring in agility and innovate.

Prior to this, he was a partner at McKinsey in India and Asia, and also held senior regional and global roles at IBM.

Puneet holds a master’s in business administration (MBA) from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, a bachelor’s degree in commerce, and Diplomas in Computer Programming, Networking, and High-level Computer Systems.