Microsoft Asia president Ahmed Mazhari: 'My first boss made the biggest impact on me'

Ahmed Mazhari also encouraged professionals to be open to new opportunities outside the geographies they are familiar with. (Image credit: LinkedIn)

Ahmed Mazhari, the president of Microsoft Asia, recently shared how his boss at his first job helped shape his career and taught him an important life lesson -- to take bets on people.

Speaking to CNBC Make It, Mazhari said it is common for many professionals to credit their success to a senior who bet on them.

"I was super fortunate... extremely lucky that I had a boss who took a bet on me, the first job, he made the biggest impact in my life. He was my lifeguard but he allowed me to do things that I had never experimented with, and then (he) bet on me for bigger jobs," he said.

Although Mazhari did not name the boss or give details about his first job, on LinkedIn, he listed being a manager at Xerox as his first role.

Sharing another life lesson he had learned on the job was to not grow roots in the "geographies and the businesses that you always operate in".
"When I was called by Microsoft for a potential role and then as Microsoft offered the role, living in London, I packed my bags, moved to Asia... for the first time ever, living in this part of the world to move from services to a product company," Mazhari said.

Stressing on being open to new opportunities, he added, "I encourage everyone... try something new, it will teach you many things in life."

Mazhari was working with GE Capital in Gurgaon before taking up a role with Microsoft that made him move first to Bucharest in Romania and then to London. Mazhari is currently based in Singapore.