In a significant move for its leadership, Microsoft has announced the hiring of Jay Parikh, the former global head of engineering at Meta, to join its senior leadership team. Parikh will directly report to CEO Satya Nadella, marking an important addition to the company as it continues to innovate and expand. With 11 years of experience at Facebook (now known as Meta), where he led intricate engineering projects and managed technical infrastructure, Parikh brings a wealth of expertise. He joined Facebook in 2009 and was instrumental in various data centre initiatives before departing in 2021 to serve as CEO of Lacework.
Read Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s welcome note
When I look to the next phase of Microsoft, both in terms of our scale and our massive opportunity ahead, it’s clear that we need to continue adding exceptional talent at every level of the organization to increase our depth and capability across our business priorities – spanning security, quality, and AI innovation. With that context, I’m excited to share that Jay Parikh is joining Microsoft as a member of the senior leadership team (SLT), reporting to me. Jay was the global head of engineering at Facebook (now Meta) and most recently was CEO of Lacework. He has an impressive track record, with a unique combination of experiences building and scaling technical teams that serve both commercial customers and consumers. His deep connections across the start-up and VC ecosystems, coupled with his leadership roles at Akamai and Ning, will bring valuable perspective to Microsoft. Over the years I’ve known Jay, I’ve admired him as a technology leader and respected engineer with a deep commitment to driving innovation and striving for operational excellence. His focus extends beyond technology, with his passion for and dedication to developing people, fostering a strong culture, and building world-class talent, all in service of delivering faster value to customers and driving business growth. In fact, there are very few leaders in our industry with Jay’s experience in leading teams through the rapid growth and scale required to support today’s largest internet businesses.
As he onboards, Jay will immerse himself in learning about our company priorities and our culture and will spend time connecting with our senior leaders and meeting with customers, partners, and employees around the world. We will share more on his role and focus in the next few months. Please join me in welcoming Jay to Microsoft.
Satya
What Parikh has to say
Parikh made the announcement on LinkedIn: I’m excited to be joining the awesome team at Microsoft. From my earliest conversations with Satya, Microsoft’s commitment to leading the AI platform shift is absolutely clear. This shift not only is a tremendous opportunity, but it is incomprehensibly complex – both of these aspects are the perfect combination for what I’m drawn to. Microsoft’s ambitions are vast – ranging from cloud to individual/team productivity, to developer tools and ecosystem, to gaming, to professional social networking, to quantum computing, to sustainability and much more. This is an extraordinary team of talented people across the planet that I’m excited to learn from. Thank you, Satya, Kathleen, Scott, Charlie, Rajesh Jha, Kevin, Amy Hood, Amy Coleman, Brian Toland, Caitlin McCabe, and several others for a wonderful welcome. I’m eager to start.
**Interview with Jay Parikh: Microsoft’s New Senior Executive**
**Interviewer:** Jay, welcome to Microsoft! What excites you most about joining the senior leadership team here?
**Jay Parikh:** Thank you! I’m thrilled to be part of such an innovative team at Microsoft. What excites me the most is the immense potential to drive transformative technological advancements—especially in areas like AI, security, and quality. I’ve always believed in the power of technology to enhance lives, and Microsoft is at the forefront of this mission.
**Interviewer:** You have an impressive background, having led engineering efforts at Meta and served as CEO of Lacework. How do you think those experiences will shape your contributions at Microsoft?
**Jay Parikh:** My time at Meta gave me valuable insights into scaling complex systems and building strong engineering teams. At Lacework, I learned a lot about security in the cloud-native architecture, which is incredibly relevant today. I aim to leverage these experiences to enhance Microsoft’s solutions and drive innovation that prioritizes security and customer needs.
**Interviewer:** Satya Nadella mentioned the importance of exceptional talent as Microsoft continues to grow. What do you think makes a successful team in such a dynamic environment?
**Jay Parikh:** A successful team relies on collaboration, diversity of thought, and a shared vision. It’s crucial to foster an environment where each team member feels empowered to contribute their unique insights. This kind of collaborative spirit not only sparks innovation but also ensures that we’re addressing our customers’ evolving needs effectively.
**Interviewer:** You’ve had extensive exposure to both startups and established companies. How do you see Microsoft blending those two worlds?
**Jay Parikh:** Microsoft has a unique opportunity to marry the agility of startups with the stability and resources of a large corporation. By fostering a culture of innovation and encouraging entrepreneurial thinking, we can rapidly iterate and adapt while leveraging the robust infrastructure that Microsoft already provides. This blend can propel us to create groundbreaking solutions.
**Interviewer:** what’s your vision for the next decade at Microsoft?
**Jay Parikh:** I envision a decade where Microsoft not only leads in technology innovation but also sets the gold standard for security and ethical AI. Our mission will be to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more, and I’m excited to guide our initiatives in this direction. Together, we can make a substantial impact on the tech landscape and society as a whole.
**Interviewer:** Thank you, Jay! We’re looking forward to seeing the change you’ll bring to Microsoft.
**Jay Parikh:** Thank you! I’m eager to get started and collaborate with everyone.
