Anant Maheshwari to lead Microsoft India

NEW DELHI:Us Tech Giant Microsoft today announced that Anant Maheshwari will join Microsoft on September 1 as President, Microsoft India. He will take over the operations of the company from Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India, with effect from January 1, 2017. Pramanik will retire from the company in March 2017.

Maheshwari, who will be joining from Honeywell, will be responsible for all of Microsoft’s product, service, and support offerings across India and continuing the company’s transformation into the leading productivity and platform company for the mobile-first, cloud-first era.

Commenting on Maheshwari’s appointment, Jean-Philippe Courtois, EVP and President of Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing & Operations said, “ As we continue to transform as an organization and to support our customers’ digital transformation, Anant’s leadership will be pivotal to our continued growth. Our mission at Microsoft – which we all care deeply about – is to enable every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. I know that in India, Anant will help us to continue to deliver against this, in one of the most vibrant, diverse and exciting markets anywhere in the world.”

Courtois continued, “ In the coming months before he retires, I know he will work side by side with Anant, to ensure we have a smooth transition of leadership and continue to drive our business forwards.”

Maheshwari commented, “Microsoft’s mission – empowering people and organizations across the planet to do more – is deeply energizing, especially at India’s current growth inflection point. The ambition of a mobile-first, cloud-first world complements India’s growth themes of Smart Cities and Digital India. The global mission and the ambition of the company are fully aligned with India’s needs and priorities, and enable a wide range of creative growth opportunities. I am excited to join the company at this transformational point and support the growth objectives globally and in India.”

Pramanik commented, “I am privileged to have participated in the growth of the Indian IT industry over the last four decades – from the days of the mainframe computing to the mobile first cloud first world of today where computing is all pervasive. I have seen the Indian IT industry grow from a few million dollars to the $200 B global behemoth that it is today.

Today, the IT industry has some of the smartest people in the world. I am proud to have groomed many of the leaders of the IT industry in India.”

Pramanik continued, “As I plan my transition out of Microsoft by March 2017, I am very happy and proud of the strong team we have built in Microsoft India. It is a team that truly embodies our mission of empowering every individual and organization to achieve more. I am excited that Anant will be taking over from me. He brings strong operational rigor, strategic competence, excellent leadership and a proven track record of bringing together diverse teams to drive big impact.”

Maheshwari joins Microsoft from Honeywell where he was their President for India. In this role he was responsible for the continued growth of India operations across all three strategic business groups of Honeywell: Aerospace, Automation and Control Solutions (ACS), and Performance Materials and Technologies (PMT).

An experienced global technology leader with a proven track record, Maheshwari has held various business leadership roles in Honeywell for over 12 years. Among his prior roles, as Managing Director of public listed Honeywell Automation India Ltd. (HAIL), he led the transformation of the ACS business portfolio. He successfully tapped the Asia-Pacific region’s high growth potential, adapting its global distribution business model to Asian markets. He also successfully conceptualized and set up the security operations in India for Honeywell.

Prior to Honeywell, Anant was with McKinsey & Company for six years where he worked with clients across multiple industries including telecom, IT and e-commerce, private equity, engineering equipment, automotive, steel and pharmaceuticals.