Puneet Chandok (ex-McKinsey) leads Microsoft in India and South Asia

Microsoft has appointed Puneet Chandok as Corporate Vice President of its India and South Asia region. He succeeds fellow ex-McKinsey alumnus Anant Maheshwari, who has left the software and cloud giant to pursue other interests.

Puneet Chandok joins Microsoft from rival Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he led the company’s India and South Asia business, working closely with enterprises, small and mid-sized businesses and startups on cloud-based operations.

Before that, he spent close to a dozen years at McKinsey & Company, where he built and led several digital and technology practices across India and Asia. He also led McKinsey’s the ‘Digital India’ task force which advised the government and corporates on their digital strategy.

“At McKinsey, I led relationships with enterprise clients, technology providers and private equity firms, and served some of the largest global and Indian corporations on digital strategy and technology transformation, analytics, and business turnarounds. I also led some of McKinsey’s highest growth offices in India,” Chandok states on his LinkedIn account.

Earlier, Chandok held senior roles at IBM Consulting in the US and India, and worked for Aon’s consulting wing.

“We are delighted to announce that Puneet will be joining Microsoft,” said Ahmed Mazhari, President of Microsoft in Asia. “Puneet has a strong track record of building and growing technology businesses and leveraging technology to deliver impact and change. As we embrace an AI-led future, Puneet’s leadership will play a vital role in ensuring Microsoft’s ongoing success in South Asia, and I extend my thanks to Anant for setting us on a growth path.”

As part of his new role, Chandok will lead Microsoft’s operations in India, and oversee the integration of the company’s businesses across South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

“I am inspired by Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more. As India expands its own digital public infrastructure, I believe that this mission is more relevant here than ever before, and I am thrilled to be joining the Microsoft team to make this mission a reality,” said Chandok.

Microsoft has been active in India since 1990. Today, the company has over 20,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research, development, customer support, and industry solutions across 10 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Noida, and Pune.