She has been doubted, memed, and then beloved since becoming the CEO of Xbox tasked with turning around Microsoft’s struggling video game division in February—even while being best known for her lack of video game experience.

My colleague Sebastian Herrera went up to Seattle to watch Sharma at work at Microsoft’s HQ. He found a “decisive boardroom boss” who is unafraid to throw years of strategy out the window at this $21 billion business.

“We’re not here to do the minimum viable thing to just have a good business,” she told him. “We’re here to be the No. 1 entertainment company.”

Sebastian raises an interesting question: With Microsoft so focused on winning the AI race, will the company devote the attention and resources necessary to win in gaming? Could Xbox be sold off to fund Microsoft’s AI future?

Read his full profile of Sharma for more on Microsoft’s Xbox strategy and the unlikely non-gamer CEO who has won over the skeptical gaming community. I promise it’s a good one.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world.

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

Hollywood is losing its women execs. Or purging them, per Vanity Fair. Bela Bajaria's ouster from Netflix, Cindy Holland's exit from Paramount, and Pamela Abdy's departure from Warner Bros. don't bode well for women's future at the top of the entertainment industry. 

How Amy Acton responded to a despicable ad. The Democrat's opponent in the race for Ohio governor, Vivek Ramaswamy, released an ad featured Acton's estranged mother telling voters not to vote for her daughter. The pair haven't been in touch since 1978; her mother lost custody of Acton and her brother when Acton was 12, after her stepfather was indicted by a grand jury on charges of sexually abusing her. Her mother stayed married to him. Acton's brother featured in a response ad and said that Ramaswamy "stooped to such a despicable low." Acton says she's been hearing from voters at events with responses like, "may I give you a hug?" 

The force behind the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. Dee Brock created the phenomenon that went on to add billions in value to the NFL franchise and spawn imitators. But Brock didn't want DCC to be her entire legacy; she earned a PhD in American literature and went on to create a televised curriculum for PBS. She died at 96 last month. 

Five questions with Donna Langley. The chair of NBCUniversal Entertainment (No. 43 on the 2026 Fortune Most Powerful Women list) who shepherded The Odyssey and other blockbusters answers what makes something a hit (cultural relevance, authenticity), what's competing with film and TV for attention, and more. 

ON MY RADAR

Gisèle Pelicot and daughter Caroline Darian are closer than ever today The Cut

Working moms are founding startups to solve problems the government and corporate America won't Fast Company

'Nicole Kidman' and other musical odes to actresses NYT

PARTING WORDS

"Whether you’re walking a runway, going back to work, or simply making it through another sleepless night, we all have one incredible thing in common: we created a miracle. And that alone deserves to be celebrated."

—Barbara Palvin on walking the Victoria's Secret runway at six weeks postpartum