Microsoft has announced the appointment of Sonia Bashir Kabir as its managing director for Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Laos. In her new role, she will lead Microsoft’s business in developing and driving strategies for all product lines, services, and support offerings in the four countries, the company said in a media statement. Sonia will also work closely with partners and local governments to help accelerate the digital transformation across these markets. Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Laos are projected to have a GDP growth of 7.1%, 6.9%, 6.9%, and 6.5% respectively in 2018. Microsoft said it was committed to accelerate the development of these countries with technology. “These countries have the potential to leapfrog and embrace the 4th Industrial revolution which can significantly enhance their economic development,” said Michelle Simmons, general manager of Southeast Asia New Markets at Microsoft Asia Pacific. He said Sonia’s experience in both Asia and the US would contribute to the digital transformation of these markets. Sonia said they would work towards “enabling every person and organisation to have the opportunity to take advantage of the era of intelligent cloud and intelligent edge.” Sonia also is a Governing Council Member of the UN’s Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries (LDCs). She was recently named as one of 10 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Pioneers by the UN Global Compact. In 2016, she received the Microsoft Founders Award, given to only 10 of Microsoft’s employees each year.