Asif Baki is the Head of Research and Insights of the Next Billion User initiative (NBU) at Google. In his role, he aims to help Google embrace its role as a global citizen by understanding user needs around the world, and helping to address these needs with existing and new products. To do this effectively, he and his team seek out new ways to evolve the research discipline and immerse stakeholders in the lives of the people they make products for. Prior to arriving at Google in 2006, Asif spent three years at Microsoft as a UX researcher on digital media. Asif has a M.S. from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He currently resides in California with his wife and 2 sons.