Lana Khalaf

Lana Khalaf is the General Manager for Microsoft Qatar. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, she has been instrumental in furthering Microsoft’s mission to transform businesses and industries, redefine learning, and fuel a knowledge-based economy to enhance the country’s global competitiveness. Khalaf began her career with Microsoft in 2006 as Regional Developer evangelist, and has since served as Education Lead and Public Sector Director. In September 2018, she was appointed General Manager of Microsoft Qatar, where she leads a team of 180 employees that spearheads the company’s efforts in supporting the country in its pursuit of the National Vision 2030. Khalaf is dedicated to empowering governments, enterprises, startups, communities, and partners to harness the power of technology to reimagine industries and economies. She has led crucial strategic initiatives, including Smart City initiative, Education elearning initiative, Health Hub initiative, Hosting FIFA world Cup in Qatar for the first time in the MiddleEast and the launch of Microsoft's cloud datacentres in Qatar. These facilities join the company’s Global regions making Qatar 55th region globally before any other region in MiddleEast. Khalaf has also launched first of its kind skills development programs and initiatives called Digital Center of Excellence to provide young people with access to the skills, technology, networks, and opportunities they need to succeed in the digital era. In addition, she has been committed to accelerating the Country’s sustainability agenda, helping governments, businesses, and startups access key tools and solutions to create a more sustainable future. She also drives Microsoft’s objectives in Qatar to promote diversity and inclusion, in order to bridge gender parity gap, as well as encourage the role of women in the ICT sector. Khalaf has been recognized by multiple industry publications for her contributions to the region and industry. Before joining Microsoft, Khalaf has held positions in organizations such as Samsung and Active Mania with involvement in areas such automation of business processes as well connected solutions for Smart Cities. She has an MBA with focus on leadership from the Lebanese American University, and majors in Computer Science from the American University of Beirut.