Microsoft appoints Abu-Ltaif as new Europe, Middle East, and Africa President

Samer Abu-Ltaif has been appointed to the role of Microsoft Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) President. Microsoft believes Abu-Ltaif will leverage his extensive experience in driving digital transformation and fostering collaboration to strengthen Microsoft’s presence in the region.

Having recently served as the President for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMA), Abu-Ltaif succeeds Ralph Haupter, who will assume the role of the newly formed Microsoft Small, Medium Enterprises and Channel partner organization’s President.

He will play a pivotal role in empowering customers and partners across over 120 markets. This includes harnessing the transformative potential of AI and enabling it to achieve more by promoting innovation and sustaining economic growth across the region.

As CEMA President, Microsoft extended strategic partnerships with service providers such as deepening its regional footprint and delivering enhanced value to customers and partners across three continents.

While expressing his heartfelt remark on his LinkedIn page, Abu-Ltaif highlighted his optimism towards driving digital transformation for our consumers and stakeholders during this pivotal era of AI.

“Reflecting on my journey with Microsoft over the past two decades, from the Gulf to Middle East and Africa and most recently Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMA), I am proud to have been part of so many impactful initiatives, from launching multiple datacenters, to widespread skilling programs to help equip current and future generations with the skills and opportunities to thrive in the digital age.”

In his concluding remarks, he highlighted the privilege of representing EMEA which he described as a region where “technological innovation is reshaping industries”. He also reinstated his commitment to leading with the purpose and integrity needed to support customers in reshaping their businesses via the company’s cloud and AI capabilities.

Based in UAE, Abu-Ltaif has held several senior leadership roles at Microsoft, including President for the Middle East and Africa, and Regional Director for the Gulf region. He holds an MBA in Leadership and Sustainability and a degree in Computer Science Studies from the American University of Beirut.

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Abu-Ltaif’s impact at Microsoft

During his over twenty-year tenure at Microsoft, Abu-Ltaif has spearheaded transformative projects that have cemented the company as a key partner in advancing regional capabilities. 

The impact includes achievements like the launch of Microsoft’s first data centre on the African continent in South Africa, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Poland and a recently announced Global Engineering Development Center in the UAE.  There are also planned datacenter regions in Greece, Saudi Arabia and Kenya. 

He played a significant role in the opening of the Microsoft Africa Development Center in Kenya, and the company’s $1.5 billion investment in Abu Dhabi’s G42, aimed at accelerating AI innovation globally.

As President of Microsoft Middle East and Africa (MEA) for six years, Dubai-based Abu-Ltiaf led Microsoft’s operations in one of its fastest-growing and most diverse markets where he led 3,000 team members across 40 offices covering 79 countries, three continents and an ecosystem of more than 21,000 partners.

Under his leadership as President of MEA, Microsoft announced its cloud data centres in South Africa, UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. It also unveiled the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub to help startups address common challenges.

In addition, empowering Africa has been a particular passion and focus for Abu-Ltiaf throughout his 35-year-long career. 

He was instrumental in driving Microsoft’s $100 million investment into the Africa Development Centers in Lagos, Nigeria and Nairobi, Kenya, which was launched in 2019. The project empowered African software engineers, partners, academia, governments and developers to develop locally and scale for global impact. 

Under his leadership as MEA’s Boss, the tech giant launched the Africa Transformation Office (ATO) which seeks to enable digital transformation powered by Africans for Africa. In 2022, ATO launched a new initiative aimed at accelerating the growth of 10,000 African startups.

As part of the credits, the company announced a partnership with African telecoms giant MTN Group to accelerate digital and cloud transformation across Africa, with commitments to digital education, and SME digitization.

Abu-Ltaif has been a key advocate for workforce development through skills training programs such as Tomoh, AthkaU, TechDev, Africa Development Bank partnership and Digital Heartbeat that have empowered millions of people to thrive in the digital age.  

His dedication to promoting sustainability has fostered impactful collaborations with governments, businesses, and startups, which have witnessed meaningful transformations.