Meta appoints Sandhya Devanathan as India head

Image Source: Meta

Facebook parent Meta on November 17 announced the appointment of Sandhya Devanathan as Vice President of Meta India, a fortnight after the departure of Meta India's country head Ajit Mohan who joined rival Snap to head its Asia Pacific business.

Devanathan, who leads the company's gaming vertical in the Asia Pacific (APAC) market, will take on her new role on January 1, 2023 and return to India to lead the company's strategy.

“I’m pleased to welcome Sandhya as our new leader for India. Sandhya has a proven track record of scaling businesses, building exceptional and inclusive teams, driving product innovation and building strong partnerships. We are thrilled to have her lead Meta’s continued growth in India,” Meta's Chief Business Officer Marne Levine said.

Also Read: Who is Sandhya Devanathan, the new Meta India head

Devanathan will be a part of the APAC leadership team and report to Dan Neary, Vice President, Meta APAC, the company said.

Her predecessor Mohan reported directly to Meta's Menlo Park headquarters, whereas other predecessors reported to the social networking firm's Asia Pacific office. Manish Chopra, Director and Head of Partnerships for Facebook India (Meta), is leading the company on an interim basis.

In her new role, Devanathan will spearhead the company's India charter and focus on bringing the organisation's business and revenue priorities together to serve its partners and clients, thereby supporting Meta's long-term growth and commitment to India, the company said in a statement.

She will also be responsible for strengthening strategic relationships with the country's leading brands, creators, advertisers, and partners to drive Meta's revenue growth in key channels in the country.

With a combined user base of over a billion monthly users, India is the largest market for Meta's family of apps, which includes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Also read: WhatsApp's Business bet takes off in India, revenues set to cross $1 bn next year

"India is at the forefront of digital adoption and Meta has launched many of our top products, such as Reels and Business Messaging, in India first. We are proud to have recently launched JioMart on WhatsApp, which is our first end-to-end shopping experience in India," Levine said.

Devanathan joined Meta in 2016 and has helped build the social networking giant's Singapore and Vietnam businesses and teams as well as its Southeast Asian e-commerce initiatives. In 2020, she assumed leadership of the company's APAC gaming business, one of its largest verticals globally.

She is also the executive sponsor for Meta's Women@APAC initiative and the global lead for Play Forward, a global Meta initiative to improve diversity representation in the gaming industry, the company said.

Devanathan previously worked at Standard Chartered Bank and Citi. She has more than 22 years of experience in banking, payments, and technology. She also serves on the global board of Pepper Financial Services, a diversified financial services firm.

ALso read: Meta's India net profit more than doubles to Rs 297 crore in FY22

High-level exits 

Devanathan's appointment follows a string of high-level departures from Meta India. In addition to Mohan, WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose and Meta India's director of public policy Rajiv Aggarwal are both leaving the company.

Shivnath Thukral, the director of public policy at WhatsApp India, has been appointed director of public policy for Meta India, which includes Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

It also comes on the heels of Facebook's parent company laying off 11,000 employees worldwide earlier this month, marking the company's first major round of layoffs in its 18-year history.

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