One former Activision Blizzard exec has come to the defense of new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, saying that – from her own experience – "even though there is a LOT to learn for someone without a gaming background, it IS learnable."
Sharma is replacing former Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who is retiring from his role at the same time as Xbox president Sarah Bond resigning, ultimately making for an enormous leadership shakeup all at once. Many previously assumed that Bond would eventually take over from Spencer, and, confusingly, Sharma has no background in games, having joined Microsoft in 2024 as president of the company's CoreAI product. But Lulu Cheng Meservey, former executive vice president, corporate affairs and chief communications officer at Activision Blizzard, says that lack of experience shouldn't be a dealbreaker.
