'Zero Experience’: Asha Sharma’s Microsoft Role Sparks ‘Indian Nepotism’ Backlash

Last Updated:February 22, 2026, 07:38 IST

Asha Sharma took charge after a leadership reshuffle, replacing Phil Spencer, the longtime face of Xbox, who stepped down after 38 years at the company.

Microsoft Gaming’s new CEO Asha Sharma faced a rapid and intense wave of online backlash within hours of her appointment on Saturday. The criticism centred on her alleged lack of gaming experience and her Indian origin. Sharma took charge after a leadership reshuffle, replacing Phil Spencer, the longtime face of Xbox, who stepped down after 38 years at the company.

Indian nepotism?

Several users on X attacked her qualifications, calling the move “Indian nepotism" and accusing Microsoft of prioritising ethnicity over competence. One widely shared post claimed the company had become “Indian nepotism now". 

Screenshots of her LinkedIn profile went viral, highlighting her previous roles at Meta, Instacart and Home Depot. Critics said she had no gaming background and had never held a position for more than four years. Some described her as “an Instacart employee" now leading a gaming division and questioned how she rose from joining Microsoft in 2024 to heading its gaming vertical by early 2026.

Anti-Indian remarks

A significant portion of the backlash directly referenced her Indian identity. Some posts accused Indian recruiters of “trashing American resumes". Others questioned whether Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had appointed “an Indian who has zero experience". One user alleged that HR departments in major companies had been “taken over by Indians" who favour Indian candidates. Another claimed her only qualification was being Indian while the hiring manager was Indian.

However, Sharma also received strong support online. Some users said the backlash began barely six hours after her appointment and called it hate-mongering purely because she is Indian. Supporters argued that critics would not react the same way to a leader from another ethnic background. Others acknowledged economic hardship in the United States but said blaming Indians for job losses was excessive.

Several posts defended her record, noting her senior leadership roles at Instacart and Meta before joining Microsoft. Supporters said her role involves subscriptions, cloud development, scaling advertisements and mobile platforms, not playing video games. One user said high-level leadership is about operational strategy across industries. 

Another said claims of nepotism ignore the rigorous hiring standards of a trillion-dollar company. A third pointed to rising hate against Indians online and called it overwhelming.

Sharma has not publicly responded to the controversy. In her first address to employees, she said she assumes the position with “humility and urgency."

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