As Vice President of Human Resources for Microsoft Asia, Annella Heytens leads the people and talent strategy across 18 countries and more than 45,000 employees. She partners with business leaders to build future-ready talent, strengthen leadership pipelines, drive organizational effectiveness, and foster a high-performance culture that enables employees and businesses to thrive in the era of AI. 

Since joining Microsoft in 2022, Annella has led the overall HR function across Asia, helping shape the people strategy behind Microsoft’s growth ambitions in the region. Her team focuses on developing pathfinder leaders, expanding engineering and commercial talent, and positioning Asia as a key innovation and talent hub for the company.

Prior to Microsoft, Annella held senior HR leadership roles at Amazon Web Services, Coca-Cola Bottling Investments Group, Cisco Systems, and Willis Towers Watson, leading large-scale talent, culture, and organizational transformation initiatives across global markets.

A passionate advocate for leadership development and the future of work, Annella is an IHRP Master Professional and holds master’s degrees from Tufts University and Cornell University. Having lived and worked across the United States, India, Indonesia, Greater China, and Singapore, she brings a deep appreciation for the diversity and opportunities that make Asia unique.