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