Google India has named Shalaka Verma as its new Head of Customer Engineering, signaling a strengthened focus on technical leadership and customer success within the Indian market. This appointment marks a significant development in Google’s regional leadership.

Verma brings a wealth of experience to her new role, having previously served as the Senior Director of Cloud Solution Architecture for Azure at Microsoft. In that capacity, she led global cloud architecture teams and was instrumental in pioneering transformative cloud solutions, including Azure Quantum. Her tenure at Microsoft was marked by a focus on developing industry-aligned solutions and fostering innovation within the partner ecosystem. Prior to her time at Microsoft, Verma held a pivotal role at IBM as the Director of Technical Sales for the Asia Pacific region. During her nine-year stint, she played a key role in launching AI, blockchain, and hybrid cloud solutions, contributing significantly to IBM’s technological advancements in the region. Her efforts in these areas have been recognized through multiple awards and the filing of three U.S. patents related to blockchain, storage virtualization, and big data.

Beyond her corporate achievements, Verma is actively involved in the broader technology community. She serves on the Advisory Board for the AI and Data Science Forum and is a Board Member at the SRM QKrishi Center of Excellence in Quantum Computing. Her contributions to the field have also been acknowledged through various accolades, including a Gold Medal awarded by the Prime Minister of India for her achievements as a computer scientist at BARC in 2006.

In her new role at Google India, Verma is expected to lead initiatives aimed at enhancing customer success through advanced cloud solutions and emerging technologies. Her extensive experience in cloud platforms, AI, and quantum computing positions her well to drive innovation and strengthen Google’s technical leadership in data and cloud engineering.

Verma’s appointment comes at a time when Google is restructuring its government affairs and public policy function in India to better align with the country’s dynamic technological landscape. The company has emphasized the need for elevated capabilities in areas such as AI, reflecting the strategic importance of India as a market. With over a billion users, India represents Google’s largest market in terms of user base, and the company has invested billions of dollars to support the digital transformation of local businesses and communities.

As Verma steps into her new position, the industry will be watching closely to see how her expertise and vision contribute to Google’s ongoing efforts to drive innovation and customer success in India and beyond.