Ravi Venkatesan is Chairman and GM of Microsoft India

Microsoft today announced the appointment of Ravi Venkatesan
as Chairman and General Manager of Microsoft India. In this newly-created
position, he will have direct responsibility for Micro-soft’s marketing,
sales, opera-tional and business development efforts in India and will provide a
single point of leadership for Microsoft India, in partnership with the leaders
of Microsoft’s other business units, in working with policy makers, customers
and partners.

Microsoft operates four distinct business units in India–the
Sales and Marketing subsidiary, Indian Business Unit IT Development Center at
Hyderabad, the India Development Center also at Hyderabad and the Global Support
Center in Bangalore. In his new position, Venkatesan will provide strategic
direction to all of Microsoft India and focus on the success of Microsoft’s
partners and customers in India. Reporting to Sanjay Mirchandani, he will begin
his Microsoft respon-sibilities on February 18.

"Ravi is a highly respected business leader and brings
an impressive track record of opera-tional and management experience to
Microsoft," said Sanjay Mirchandani, President (Asia Pacific), Microsoft.
"His leadership and vision will be key, as Microsoft strengthens
connections with Indian customers, partners and policy makers and parti-cipates
in the country’s long term technology, economic and social growth."

Said Venkatesan, "I am deli-ghted at the opportunity to
lead Microsoft’s businesses in India during this important and exciting time.
With its technology and resources, Microsoft is uniquely well-positioned to
contribute to India’s dynamic economic growth and social development. We have
an excellent foundation and a passionate and experienced Indian leadership team
in place, and I look forward to being part of it."

Prior to joining Microsoft, Venkatesan served as Chairman of
Cummins India Ltd, a US-based designer, manufacturer and distributor of engines
and related technolo-gies. He earned his BS in Mechanical Engineer-ing from IIT
Bombay and his MS in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University. He also
holds an MBA from Harvard University.

CyberMedia News Service

New Delhi