The U.S. Federal Reserve has set up five new task forces to review and modernize how the American central bank runs its operations, and the Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Marsh has named a list of external experts chosen to lead these panels. These experts include university professors, major tech investors and prominent corporate bosses.
According to a press release, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is among the appointees. Sharma has been selected to lead a task force dedicated to productivity and employment. She will be overseeing the Productivity and Jobs panel alongside Charles I. Jones, a Stanford economics professor currently on sabbatical at the AI safety firm Anthropic, and Marc Andreessen, a high-profile Silicon Valley venture capitalist known for his financial backing of AI companies.
READ: Indian American CEOs still lead major US companies (July 5, 2026)
“The Federal Reserve’s commitment to price stability and maximum employment is unwavering. As is our resolve to pursue our mandate with rigor,” said Chairman Kevin Warsh. “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.”
The selection of Sharma raised some eyebrows since it comes just days after she announced overhauls at Xbox that will see roughly 3,200 employees lose their jobs by the end of the 2027 financial year.
READ: Aariya Goel elevated as CEO of Academik America (July 2, 2026)
In an internal email sent to Xbox employees and later shared publicly on social media, Sharma said about 1,600 positions would be eliminated immediately, with additional workforce reductions planned throughout the fiscal year. The broader restructuring will also see four Xbox studios transition to new ownership or independent management.
These job cuts come after Microsoft’s decision to cut roughly 4,000 jobs companywide with Xbox among the hardest-hit divisions. The company also announced plans to spin off or restructure several gaming studios as it seeks to improve profitability amid slowing hardware sales and rising development costs. Sharma said the layoffs were based on fundamental business challenges rather than employee performance.