Core42, the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure company, appointed Sherif Tawfik as Chief Business Officer on 31 March 2026, tapping the former Microsoft executive who architected and managed the $1.5 billion G42-Microsoft strategic alliance. In his new role, Tawfik will lead Core42's global commercial operations across sales, marketing, business development, partnerships, and managed services, with a mandate to expand the company's international footprint and accelerate adoption of its sovereign AI cloud platforms.
The appointment signals Core42's push to commercialize its infrastructure globally at a critical juncture in sovereign cloud adoption. Talal M. Al Kaissi, interim Chief Executive of Core42, described Tawfik as bringing "deep commercial leadership and a strong track record building technology partnerships at global scale." Al Kaissi emphasized Tawfik's understanding of "both the global technology landscape and the national infrastructure ambitions driving AI adoption today," highlighting his instrumental role in shaping the G42-Microsoft partnership. No executive search firm was identified in announcements. The appointment comes as Core42 has announced expansions across the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, including a 42-megawatt AI infrastructure expansion at a New York facility announced in June 2026.
Tawfik brings nearly three decades of technology leadership, including more than 25 years at Microsoft where he held senior roles spanning the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. His background spans multiple domains: he served as General Manager for Bahrain and Oman, where he led the subsidiary to consecutive years of double-digit growth and earned recognition as Microsoft's best-performing subsidiary globally. He later held roles as Chief Sustainability Commercial Officer for Central and Southeastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, where he generated significant sales pipelines in cloud adoption and drove commercial participation at COP27 and COP28. Most recently, he served as Chief Partnership Officer for the G42-Microsoft Global Alliance, where he orchestrated strategic alignment across markets enabling sovereign cloud deployments and large-scale digital transformation initiatives. Tawfik holds a Master's degree from London Business School and an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from Ain Shams University in Egypt. He is also Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Fusion Minds AI, focused on advancing responsible artificial intelligence and applying generative AI to sustainability challenges.
Core42 was formed in February 2024 as a consolidated subsidiary of G42 Holdings, merging three previously distinct entities: G42 Cloud, Khazna Data Centers (the UAE's largest data center operator founded in 2012), and Inject AI. The company functions as what it describes as the structural anchor of the UAE's national AI compute strategy. Core42 operates the G42 Intelligence Grid, a distributed infrastructure platform designed to produce, move, and consume intelligence at national and enterprise scale. The company has expanded significantly beyond its Abu Dhabi foundation, establishing operations in the United States, establishing European headquarters in Dublin in 2025, and deploying AI infrastructure across France and Italy. In March 2025, Core42 signed a landmark agreement with the Abu Dhabi Government and Microsoft to implement a sovereign cloud system supporting 11 million daily digital government interactions, backed by AED 13 billion in government investment.
Tawfik's appointment reflects the broader acceleration toward production-scale AI deployment globally. The sovereign cloud market itself is projected to grow substantially, with global spending expected nearly to double from $133 billion in 2024 to $259 billion by 2027, according to analysis from Microsoft and Core42. Tawfik's deep experience navigating government relationships in the Middle East and Africa, combined with his leadership of the G42-Microsoft partnership architecture, positions him to address Core42's commercial challenge: translating technical infrastructure capabilities into sustained revenue from government entities and regulated enterprises seeking sovereignty-compliant cloud solutions. His move from managing a partnership between two major companies to leading commercial operations suggests that Core42's parent, G42 Holdings (chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE National Security Advisor), is confident in the company's infrastructure foundation and now prioritizes aggressive commercialization in international markets.
