Rajan Anandan Is Now Microsoft India MD

Microsoft India will see a change at the top, with Rajan Anandan set to take over as the company's managing director of its sales marketing and services business in India; and Jaspreet Bindra as the head of the entertainment and devices (E+D) division, India. Rajan Anandan, who will report in to Ravi Venkatesan, chairman, Microsoft India, was till recently vice president and country general manager for Dell India.
The high-profile exit of Neelam Dhawan created a vacuum in the company for almost two months, who quit Microsoft India to join HP India in June this year. A 22 year veteran in the IT industry, Dhawan's departure from Microsoft came amidst the opposition from India and three other countries to the ISO's decision to declare the OOXML file format as an international standard.

Welcoming Anandan on board, Venkatesan said, “I believe that Rajan is one of the most talented executives in the India IT industry today. He has the right mix of strategy and execution which is essential for our continued growth and also brings a very energising combination of passion, belief in people, and most importantly, an appetite for big challenges. I am confident that Rajan will help lead Microsoft India to new heights of excellence.”

Anandan, who joins Microsoft on 1 September 2008, will have the key responsibility of growing the sales and marketing operations for Microsoft India. He will be responsible for growing Microsoft's products and services businesses and also play a key role in driving the company's partnerships and strategic alliances.

Speaking on the occasion, Anandan said, "Microsoft as a company has shaped the evolution of the global computing industry over the past 30 years and is poised to play a leading role in every major new technology arena over the coming decade. I am thrilled to be joining the Microsoft India team at such an exciting time.”

Jaspreet Bindra, who has been with Microsoft India since 2005, will transition from his current role of country manager, online services group (OSG). Bindra will now be responsible for the Microsoft E&D products, services and solutions – including XBox – in the country.

Bindra, who will transition into his role in September, said, “I believe this to be a very exciting time to move into E&D. Gaming is on a exponential growth track and the retail environment continues to develop rapidly. Both are areas which are increasingly important for the success of Microsoft.”