Sarah Bond (executive)

Sarah Bond
Born (1978-10-27) October 27, 1978
Morristown, New Jersey, U.S.
Education
EmployerMicrosoft Gaming (2017–2026)
TitlePresident of Xbox
AwardsVentureBeat Visionary Award (2022)

Sarah Bond (born October 27, 1978)[1] is an American business executive and former president of Xbox at Microsoft, where she oversaw the brand's operations as a platform and ecosystem, including hardware and devices, player and creator experiences, platform engineering, strategy, business planning, data and analytics, and business development and partnerships.[2]

Early life

Bond was born in Morristown, New Jersey on October 27, 1978, and is one of seven siblings. Her father Bruce Bond was a telecom CEO, and her mother worked in technology at AT&T before transitioning to philanthropy.[1][3] Bond spent part of her childhood overseas, living in the United Kingdom for ten years for her education before returning to the United States.[4][5] She is an Economics graduate from Yale University and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.[6][1]

Career

Bond began her career as an associate partner at McKinsey & Company.[7] Transitioning to T-Mobile, she held key roles, including chief of staff to CEO John Legere and later senior vice president of corporate strategy and development.[1]

In 2017, Bond joined Microsoft, starting as a corporate vice president overseeing gaming business development and partnerships at Xbox. She later assumed the position of corporate vice president of game creator experience and ecosystem.[8][1] Bond played a pivotal role representing Microsoft during the scrutinized bid to acquire Activision Blizzard, including testifying at the 2022 FTC v. Microsoft trial.[9][10]

In 2022, she received the Visionary Award from GamesBeat for her contributions to the industry.[11] On October 26, 2023, Bond was promoted to president of Xbox, reporting directly to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer.[12] On February 20, 2026, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that Bond would leave Microsoft alongside Spencer, following the appointment of Asha Sharma as the next Executive Vice President of Xbox.[13]

Beyond Microsoft, Bond serves on the boards of organizations such as Zuora, Chegg, and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).[14][15][16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Sarah Bond" (PDF). Archives of IT (Interview). Interviewed by Mori, Elisabetta. London. November 13, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
  2. ^ Warren, Tom (October 26, 2023). "Read Phil Spencer's full Microsoft memo on the new Xbox leadership changes". The Verge. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  3. ^ Rowe, Ian (February 4, 2025). "Sarah and Bruce Bond: Father-Daughter Success Story". American Enterprise Institute. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
  4. ^ "Next Level: How Sarah Bond (MBA 2006) is taking on the culture—and the future success—of the gaming industry". Harvard Business School Alumni. September 1, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
  5. ^ Xbox On (March 31, 2023). "Exclusive: Sarah Bond Talks What's Coming Up For Xbox in 2023". YouTube. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  6. ^ "Sarah Bond". Variety. December 22, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  7. ^ "Speaker Details Page". DICE Summit. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  8. ^ "Sarah Bond". Black Entrepreneur & Executives Profiles. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  9. ^ Plant, Logan (June 22, 2023). "Sarah Bond: Xbox Cloud Is Game Pass Ultimate's Least Popular Feature, Says Service Running at a Loss". IGN. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  10. ^ Ivan, Tom (June 23, 2023). "Xbox claims Activision demanded a bigger revenue share to put Call of Duty on Series X/S". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  11. ^ Takahashi, Dean (April 27, 2022). "Visionary Awards honor Microsoft's Sarah Bond and Arkane's Dinga Bakaba". VentureBeat. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  12. ^ Nwanji, Ngozi (November 1, 2023). "Microsoft Appoints Sarah Bond As The New President Of Xbox, Making Her The First Black Woman In The Role At A Major Gaming Company". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  13. ^ Nadella, Satya (February 20, 2026). "Microsoft Xbox chief Phil Spencer retires, replaced by AI executive Asha Sharma". CNBC. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
  14. ^ Crowley, Kinsey (June 9, 2023). "These women could be the next Fortune 500 CEOs". Fortune. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  15. ^ "Chegg Appoints Sarah Bond to Board of Directors". Chegg. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  16. ^ Summation (September 30, 2023). "FUTURE of XBOX & The Metaverse: Sarah Bond". YouTube. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
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