Meet Pavan Davuluri, IIT alumnus who now heads Microsoft's Windows & Surface

Microsoft's Pavan Davuluri: With his appointment as Microsoft’s Windows and Surface chief, Indian-American Pavan Davuluri, has recently joined a gallery of Indian-origin top tech bosses at the forefront of blue-chip global firms. 
Microsoft’s recent appointment of Davuluri is being seen as a validation of a predominant trend that has seen Indian-origin tech geeks hold coveted positions in the larger big-tech ecosystem. What are the key highlights of Davuluri’s illustrious 23-year stint with Microsoft? Republic Business takes a deep dive. 

From Madras to Microsoft 

Davuluri succeeds Panos Panay, who left the tech giant for better fortunes at Amazon last year. The IIT Madras alumni Davuluri’s elevation at Microsoft comes after over two decades of his association with the tech giant. Microsoft had recently split the Windows and Surface groups under separate leadership.

The Microsoft rejig marks a reunification of its Windows and Devices teams. Davuluri has played a key role in collaborations with Qualcomm and AMD to develop Custom Surface processors. While the likes of Google’s Sunder Pichai and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, have globally created a mark for themselves, Pavan Davuluri as Microsoft’s new Windows and Surface head is the success story of yet another Indian-origin high-profile techie. 

After the IIT Madras educated Davuluri, took over the Surface Silicon and Devices domain, with Mikhail Parakhin leading a new team focused on Windows and web experiences, changes were palpable at Microsoft. Now, both Windows and Surface segments will be Davuluri’s responsibility, as Parakhin last year decided to move on and “explore new roles.”

Microsoft restructuring 

American publication “The Verge” has obtained an internal memo from Rajesh Jha, Microsoft’s head of experiences and devices, outlining the new Windows organisation. Microsoft is now bringing together its Windows and Devices teams once more. 

Image credit: Unsplash 

As per Jha, the fusion of these two domains will enable Microsoft to take a holistic approach to building silicon, systems, experiences, and devices that span Windows client and cloud for this AI era. Under Davuluri's leadership, the E+D division will spearhead the development of systems, experiences, and devices, with a strong emphasis on AI integration. Shilpa Ranganathan and Jeff Johnson will report directly to Davuluri, ensuring seamless coordination within the division. 

Furthermore, the memo from Jha outlines the collaborative efforts between the Windows team and Microsoft AI, underscoring the importance of integrating AI technologies into Microsoft's products and services. As the tech landscape continues to evolve, Microsoft remains committed to innovation and delivering cutting-edge solutions to its users.