EMEA leadership announcement: Ralph Haupter steps into global role, Samer Abu-Ltaif to lead EMEA
Today, Microsoft announced that Ralph Haupter, President, Microsoft EMEA is set to take on a worldwide role as President, of the newly formed Microsoft Small, Medium Enterprises and Channel partner organization. As Ralph transitions to this new position, Samer Abu-Ltaif will step into the role of President for the Microsoft Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.
Ralph, who has been a driving force behind Microsoft’s success in EMEA, will now bring his strategic acumen and customer-first mindset to a global stage. This is leveraging his broad leadership experience from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa as well as from prior leadership roles in Asia. This comes as small and medium-sized businesses, vital to many economies worldwide, seek to boost productivity with the latest AI innovations.
Samer Abu-Ltaif, currently the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMA), will take on the leadership role of President for Microsoft EMEA, spanning more than 120 countries. During his two-decade tenure at Microsoft, Samer has held several leadership roles covering strategically important markets. First in the Gulf, then at the helm of Middle East and Africa after which he led the Microsoft business for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Samer has a track record of accelerating the innovation agenda of customers and establishing unconventional partnerships in countries across three continents. Under his leadership, he initiated numerous skills development programs to provide the workforce of today and tomorrow with access to the skills, technology, networks, and opportunities they need to succeed in the era of AI. His achievements include the launch of Microsoft’s first datacenter on the African continent in South Africa, datacenters in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Poland, a recently announced Global Engineering Development Center in the UAE, and planned datacenter regions in Greece and Saudi Arabia as well as the upcoming datacenter region in Kenya, in partnership with G42. He played a pivotal role in driving Microsoft’s investment in the Africa Development Center and the company’s $1.5 billion investment in Abu Dhabi’s G42, aimed at accelerating AI innovation and supporting Microsoft’s global expansion. Samer holds an MBA in Leadership and Sustainability and a degree in Computer Science from the American University of Beirut.
This leadership transition marks a new chapter for Microsoft, as both Ralph and Samer take on larger roles that will further our mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. Ralph’s global perspective and Samer’s regional expertise will be instrumental in helping our teams, partners and customers usher in the era of agentic AI across countries and continents.