An Ode to Sarah Bond: President of Xbox [2017 - 2026]

Dear Madam President

When I saw the news that Sarah Bond, President of Xbox [2017–2026], is leaving Microsoft, my heart stopped in its tracks.

My mind immediately went to the book Dear Madam President by Jennifer Palmieri, which was gifted to me by a dear friend and mentor, at the time when I was preparing to join Microsoft for the summer of 2025 as an MBA Business Development Management intern.

I could go with a gender-neutral salutation of “Dear President.”
It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman,
so long as you can do the job.

Bullshit.
It matters.

And you are going to be different.
You will bring an entirely new perspective to the office.
You will expand our nation’s comprehension of what it means to be a leader.
In its best moments, your presidency will give us a more fully realized sense of leadership
— one that combines the best qualities of women and men.”

– Jennifer Palmieri in ‘Dear Madam President‘
Former White House Communications Director

I first learned of Sarah Bond when I had just received news that I was hired as an intern for the summer of my MBA by Microsoft.

My friend RJ, who is an adept gamer and lover of Xbox, said to me: “You will meet Sarah Bond! You will love Sarah Bond!”

At the time, I had no idea who Sarah was, nor was I excited to learn what she was about. Then I Googled her, and I immediately fell in love with both her work and what she stood for.

I later posted about my excitement for my summer internship on LinkedIn, and she commented welcoming me to the team.

This was our first interaction. I was most excited!

A Humane Leader

Sarah to me is what I would describe as the most humane leader in the for-profit sector. Her story goes far beyond Microsoft and Xbox. Before becoming President of Xbox at Microsoft, she built her foundation at McKinsey & Company, held senior leadership roles at T-Mobile, and earned her degrees from Yale University and Harvard Business School.

I remember when I first ran into her at Xbox. I was walking back to my office on the fourth floor of Studio D, and I saw her grabbing a drink at the central hub. In my mind, I said to myself: I have one shot, and I want to meet her. I also want to connect with her.

So I walked up to her and introduced myself.

“Hi, I’m Nthanda. I’m a Business Development Manager intern working with the Developer Acceleration Program here for the summer.”

She said, “Well, that’s a really good program. What are you working on?”

I told her I was analyzing the data and trying to see how the games in the DAP portfolio were performing. She said, “That’s a really important program.”

I also told her that the team had said she enabled them to create programs like this. She responded, “I do not think I enabled or made them create that program, but I do think I created a space where it was possible to create programs like that.”

That distinction mattered to me.

I then told her that apart from this work, I had a lot of experience in digital media in my own country, running my own entities. If there was any way at all I could contribute to her work, I would love to.

She said, “Okay, send me a message on Teams.”

When I got back to my desk, I remembered she had recently done a podcast. I edited quick soundbites from it to show what I could do for a communications team. I wrote her a Teams message saying I had created this and wondered if her comms team might find it useful.

She quickly introduced me to Stacey Derk, her Executive Communications leader, and told me to reach out to her and see what we could do.

In no time, I was working with the Executive Communications team in addition to my regular work at Xbox.

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Representation and Access

Working under Sarah was extremely joyful for me.

I was happy to know we were led by a Black woman as President of Xbox. I was even happier to know she opened herself up and made herself accessible to us.

I had many touchpoints with her. In management meetings, she would say small things like, “Oh, I know you,” and smile at me. When I submitted questions to senior leadership, and she responded in those meetings, she would make eye contact with me so I knew she was speaking directly to me.

I remember one intern engagement event where we were running communications in the background to make sure everything went smoothly.

That day, I wore an Afro puff. I had debated whether to wear it. It felt like a big decision.

During the session, she spoke about how proud she was that her daughter, who is of mixed race, is proud to wear her Afro.

She was looking in my direction, and to me, it felt like she was speaking personally to me.

Since then, I have gone fully natural. I am growing back my natural hair. I stopped relaxing it.

Representation does something internal. It shifts you.

It was also beautiful to see games from underrepresented regions being centered and housed at Xbox.

I wish I could talk about Sarah as just a leader. But she is not just a leader. She is/was the most senior Black woman in the Microsoft ecosystem. That must be acknowledged as part of her legacy.

She led as a woman. She led as a Black woman. And she did that incredibly well.

Her Compass

There were values that were important to her in everything she did.

In her personal philosophy, she wanted to speak about what drives her. She would ask herself these three questions at the end of each day:

Did I bring my A-Game? Did I give it everything I’ve got?
Was I inclusive of other? Did I create opportunities for other people to succeed in the spaces that I was in?
If everyone associated with me were judged based on how I turned up behaved today, did I make them proud?

Those are powerful compasses.

I grew to respect her deeply.

Leadership Without Switching

Someone once asked her during a townhall how she balances being a mother and being President of Xbox. How does she switch from leading a global gaming platform to going home and being soft with her children?

She said, “I do not switch. I lead the same way I mother.”

She shows up at the office as the mother she is to her children.

You could feel that in her spirit.

She led as a mother. As a friend. As a steady presence.

Even on the days she was visibly tired, she made time. She smiled. She engaged.

At Xbox, we all felt honored to know her.

Making Time

When I was finishing my internship, I messaged her to let her know I had two weeks left.

She did not respond immediately, and often I knew no response meant she was quite busy.

As she passed me by while I was by the stationery corner grabbing a pen, she walked toward me and said, “We should make time for a one-on-one before you go.”

I reached out to her executive assistant, but I was told she was not available for at least the next two to three months. I went back to her and let her know.

She said, “No, you only need 15 minutes.”

She started her day at 8:45 for me.

We had that one-on-one. We talked about my career and what I could become. I shared creative ideas. Some things worked out, some didn’t. That’s fine. I understand the bureaucracy of large institutions and the reality of senior leadership roles.

But she always tried to work it out. She made time.

This is how I remember Sarah.

This Moment

Seeing Sarah step away from Xbox is emotional for me, and I trust many of us who have worked with her.

I do not know all the facts. Corporate transitions happen. I hope this is the best next step in her journey.

But in this moment I want us to celebrate a Black woman who was excellent. A Black woman who mentored. A Black woman who led with humanity in a for-profit system.

As I wrap up my MBA and reflect on the leaders who inspire me, the leaders I want to become, I think of those who do not exude ego. Leaders who show humanity. Leaders who do their best in difficult circumstances.

I am preparing a TED talk titled “Smarter Machines and Faster Evidence Vs the Human Ego“.

And when I think about ego-less leadership, one of the people I get to think about is Sarah.

That this transition is happening during Black History Month is not lost on me.

We were honored to be led by someone so humane. Someone who cared deeply about the people she worked with, the people she led, and what their work meant to them.

A lot of Black girls will shine brighter because you did, Sarah Bond.

We are incredibly indebted.
We wish you the absolute best.
We know you will be amazing in what comes next.
And we cannot wait to see you shine.