Meet the Black female executive trailblazing in gaming and tech, leading with a decades-long career that began with a love for gaming. In less than a decade, Sarah Bond has carried Xbox at Microsoft by making some epic boss moves and driving stellar results. Sis is literally running the game, no pun intended.
Brought in by the current CEO of Microsoft gaming Phil Spencer, and with the support of CEO Satya Nadella, Bond was able to leap from her position as general manager to president within eight years. The tech savvy Yale and Harvard business school graduate propelled Xbox’s iconic gaming ecosystem to new heights with rock-solid strategy, and a little Black girl magic.
Bond’s love for gaming and creativity began at the ripe age of six, holding close the fond memories of playing alongside her dad. The Gen-x boss grew up on some of the most popular video games, including the grainy PC fave King’s Quest II, Sonic the Hedgehog, and GoldenEye 007. An avid gamer to date, Bond prioritized the company’s products from a consumer perspective, while evolving her leadership style and leaning into the power of risk-taking.
Leading With Love
Bond expressed her belief in the importance of a solid foundation when it comes to team building and leadership, similar to that of a cheerleading pyramid. The person at the top is only successful based on the success of her team below. Without that, the team is bound to fold.
One of her best tips that you’ll never find in the traditional leadership playbook? Leading with love.
“You’re not a leader until you manage people who can do a job you’ve never done. Until then, you’re just a really really big manager,” Bond, 47, told Forbes. “The way you motivate people is with love, not fear,” she later added. “Why do firemen run into burning buildings? It’s not about their paycheck.”
In the process of setting a super high bar, the successful exec is sure to keep that same energy when it comes to providing equally powerful support, in addition to what she calls a “loving reward.”
“What you have done is simply incredible,” Bond explained, giving an example of her praise as a leader. “You pulled out all the stops, it is impossible to make it in time and now look at what you’ve delivered.” Her leadership methods are bringing stellar results, as she recalled one employee who told her, “This is the hardest job I’ve ever had, and I’ve never loved anything so much.”
The Results Of Ongoing Success
Since becoming president of Xbox in October 2023, Bond has been at the top of significant growth and achievement. This includes the team’s role in securing Microsoft’s legendary Activision Blizzard acquisition — a deal worth $68.7 billion. She’s championed the growth of Xbox Game Pass, user experience, uplifted indie developers, and even opened the discussion regarding making gaming more accessible during Bloomberg’s tech conference.
Not for nothing, Xbox’s metrics are healthier than ever under Bond. Game Pass currently has 34 million subscribers, a drastic increase since years prior, per Statista. Microsoft’s Xbox network showed an estimated 120 million active users monthly. Needless to say, so much more is still to come for this New Jersey native, the Xbox world, and game-lovers all over the globe.