Xbox president Sarah Bond departs as Asha Sharma named CEO after Phil Spencer retirement
Feb 23rd 2026
Bond said she is leaving after almost nine years, will stay on as a Special Advisor during a planned transition to Asha Sharma, and praised the team amid major projects and the Activision deal.
- Sarah Bond announced her departure from Xbox after almost nine years in a LinkedIn message to staff.
- Phil Spencer is retiring from Microsoft and Asha Sharma will take over as CEO of Xbox.
- Bond said she and Sharma planned the transition and that she will remain on as a Special Advisor to support the handover.
- She highlighted growth in PC and cloud gaming, ongoing work on the next console, and an effort to build a more open gaming platform.
- Bond acknowledged the Microsoft Activision deal as one of the biggest challenges the organization faced.
- She thanked Phil Spencer for his mentorship and did not disclose her next personal or professional plans.