Puneet Chandok

At a time when AI is no longer confined to research labs and boardroom presentations but is becoming part of everyday conversations and chai breaks, Puneet Chandok is leading the charge in making AI accessible in India. Now heading Microsoft India and South Asia, Chandok has been quietly pushing AI into daily life, through partnerships with over 500 Indian companies and supporting language models that work across 20 Indian languages.

Since joining Microsoft in 2023, he’s focused on using AI not as a buzzword, but as a practical tool that helps organisations work smarter and people connect more meaningfully with technology. Calling 2025 the year of AI agents, he is optimistic about a future where AI doesn’t merely assist, but understands and collaborates.

Chandok believes in leading with empathy and from the heart. With a career spanning over 23 years, he has previously worked with companies like AWS, McKinsey and IBM, and now chairs the CII AI Council and sits on NASSCOM’s executive council.