Microsoft has announced the appointment of Sonia Bashir Kabir as managing director for Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Laos.

In her new role, Sonia will lead Microsoft’s business in developing and driving strategies for all product lines, services, and support offerings in the four countries, while working closely with partners and local governments to help accelerate the digital transformation across these markets by bringing people, data, and processes together to reinvent business values, provide personalised experience to customers, and transform education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Laos are projected to have a GDP growth of 7.1%, 6.9%, 6.9%, and 6.5% respectively in 2018. The growth in GDP, together with the rising manufacturing industry have improved local economies, further enabling more people to have access to technology. As these countries continue to undergo their respective transformations, Microsoft and its partners are committed to accelerate their development with technology, empowering every person and every organisation to pivot and achieve more.

‘Digital Transformation in emerging markets is an important priority for companies, governments and Microsoft alike. These countries have the potential to leapfrog and embrace the 4th Industrial revolution which can significantly enhance their economic development. I am confident that Sonia’s experience in both Asia and the US will contribute to the digital transformation of these markets,’ said Michelle Simmons, General Manager of Southeast Asia New Markets at Microsoft Asia Pacific. 

‘I am honored to be entrusted with the multi-country role, and am excited to be part of the digital transformation journey of these countries. We will work towards enabling every person and organization to have the opportunity to take advantage of the era of intelligent cloud and intelligent edge,’ says Sonia Bashir Kabir.

Besides her work at Microsoft, Sonia is a Governing Council Member of the United Nation’s Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries (LDCs). She was also recently named as one of 10 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Pioneers by the United Nations Global Compact. In 2016, she was the recipient of the Microsoft Founders Award, which only 10 employees out of Microsoft’s 100,000 worldwide employees receive this award each year.