Microsoft Appoints Ohad Yassin to Lead R&D Center in Israel

Microsoft has appointed Ohad Yassin, a senior company executive, as the new General Manager of its Research and Development (R&D) center in Israel. Yassin will assume the role in November, succeeding Michal Bracha-Blumenstyk, who has held the position for the past six and a half years. Yassin joined Microsoft in 2014 and played a significant role in expanding the local R&D center's operations, particularly in establishing and nurturing new product groups in cloud, AI, software, and hardware.

Currently, Yassin serves as a Corporate Vice President responsible for Microsoft's sovereign cloud operations. In this capacity, he leads the global strategy development for the Azure cloud platform and manages worldwide teams working with clients on digital sovereignty. He will continue in this role concurrently with his new responsibilities leading the Israeli R&D center. Yassin holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from Reichman University and a master's degree in management sciences from Tel Aviv University. Prior to Microsoft, he worked for approximately ten years at SAP and earlier at various Israeli startups. He is also a board member of the "Lo Amdot M'naged" (They Stand Not Aside) non-profit organization.

"The Microsoft R&D center in Israel has been my professional home for over a decade, and I am proud and excited to take on the responsibility of leading it into its next chapter," Yassin stated in a press release. He emphasized the team's innovative thinking, boldness, engineering excellence, and ability to transform challenges into advanced technological solutions impacting millions of users globally. Yassin highlighted the importance of these capabilities, combined with connections to the local high-tech industry, academia, and the broader tech ecosystem, as the foundation for continued growth. He expressed enthusiasm for strengthening the center's professional and social contributions and shaping the next generation of Microsoft technologies and products, especially in the era of artificial intelligence.