Xbox CEO Asha Sharma Appointed to Federal Reserve Task Force on Jobs and Productivity Following Recent Layoffs

The Federal Reserve has just rolled out several new task forces featuring leaders from the private sector to provide insights on current economic trends. Among those appointed is Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who will contribute to discussions on “jobs and productivity,” particularly focusing on the effects of emerging AI technologies. This announcement comes shortly after she initiated around 3,200 layoffs set to unfold within Microsoft’s gaming division over the next year.

“The Federal Reserve’s commitment to price stability and maximum employment is unwavering. As is our resolve to pursue our mandate with rigor,” stated Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh in a recent press release. “The U.S. economy has changed significantly over the last generation, and never more so than right now. Each task force will carefully consider whether policymakers’ means and methods, analytical tools, and policy approaches can be improved upon. I am honored that the best minds from a range of disciplines have agreed to work with us to sharpen our performance as an institution. The goal is straightforward: to ensure the Fed is best positioned to achieve our objectives in this consequential time.”

Sharma’s task force is tasked with evaluating the economic implications of new general-purpose technologies, including artificial intelligence, to guide the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions. She won’t be tackling this alone; she’s joined by Charles I. Jones, an economist from Stanford University affiliated with the AI firm Anthropic, and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen from Andreessen Horowitz.

Andreessen, known for co-founding early web browsers, has leveraged his tech success into a venture capital fund, often sharing his views on podcasts with a notable lack of self-reflection. It’s interesting to see him now have a direct line to the nation’s central banking system.

Sharma also has a background in the startup scene, having previously worked at Instacart and Meta before joining Microsoft’s Core AI group. She transitioned to Xbox earlier this year and has quickly moved to revitalize a struggling gaming division, resulting in significant cuts across the organization, including to long-standing senior staff members.

“We know that great technology gets better when it gets simpler, not bigger,” she communicated to her team in a memo this week. “Today, in some parts of the company, work passes through as many as 14 layers of management. Our platform teams are 40% larger than they were at the start of this generation, even as our player base and playtime have declined. That complexity has slowed decisions, blurred accountability, and made it harder to deliver for players. As we reset Xbox, we will simplify.”