Anant Maheshwari to take over as Microsoft India President

Software giant Microsoft has named former Honeywell top executive Anant Maheshwari as the President of its India operations.

Anant Maheshwari, who will join Microsoft on September 1, will take over operations of the company from Microsoft India Chairman Bhaskar Pramanik with effect from January 1, 2017, a statement said.

Pramanik will retire in March 2017. Maheshwari will be responsible for Microsoft's product, service, and support offerings across India.

"As we continue to transform as an organisation and support our customers' digital transformation, Anant's leadership will be pivotal to our continued growth," Microsoft EVP and President Global Sales (marketing and operations) Jean-Philippe Courtois said.

On his appointment, Maheshwari said Microsoft's ambition of a mobile-first, cloud-first world complements India's growth themes of smart cities and Digital India.

"The global mission and the ambition of the company are fully aligned with India's needs and priorities and enable a wide range of creative growth opportunities. I am excited to join the company at this transformational point and support the growth objectives globally and in India," he added.

Maheshwari joins Microsoft from Honeywell where he was the India President. He has held various business leadership roles at Honeywell for over 12 years.

Prior to Honeywell, he has been associated with McKinsey & Company and has worked with clients across industries like telecom, IT and e-commerce, private equity, engineering equipment, automotive, steel and pharmaceuticals.

Microsoft, which set up its India operations in 1990, now has over 7,000 employees across sales and marketing, research and development, and customer services and support.