Meta India head Ajit Mohan quits with immediate effect; joins rival Snap

Ajit Mohan, vice-president and managing director - India, Meta.

Meta (formerly Facebook) India country head Ajit Mohan has quit from the company with immediate effect on November 3 after a nearly four-year stint, according to people close to developments. The company has confirmed this exit to Moneycontrol.

Manish Chopra, Director and Head of Partnerships for Facebook India (Meta), will lead the company on an interim basis.

Mohan had disclosed his exit on an internal portal and a meeting that was scheduled for today was cancelled, people familiar with the matter told Moneycontrol. The exit was sudden and the employees are in a state of shock, sources said.

In his next role, Mohan will join rival Snap to lead the Asia Pacific region for the social media firm, along with being part of the company's executive team, he mentioned in a LinkedIn post.

"I am grateful to the company for the amazing opportunity to lead its efforts in one of its most important countries and I am absolutely proud of the work the team and I have done to create impact for people, creators and businesses around the country" Mohan said.

“Ajit has decided to step down from his role at Meta to pursue another opportunity outside of the company" said Nicola Mendelsohn, Vice President, Global Business Group, Meta in a statement.

"Over the last four years, he has played an important role in shaping and scaling our India operations so they can serve many millions of Indian businesses, partners and people. We remain deeply committed to India and have a strong leadership team in place to carry on all our work and partnerships. We are grateful for Ajit’s leadership and contribution and wish him the very best for the future" she said.

India is the largest market for Meta's family of apps that include - Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp - with a combined userbase of over a billion monthly users.

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

First India chief to directly report to Meta HQ

Ajit Mohan had joined the social networking giant as the managing director and vice-president for Facebook India in January 2019, a newly created role by the tech giant in the country. His predecessors Umang Bedi or Kirthiga Reddy didn’t have the vice-president title.

Mohan was also the first India chief to directly report to the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, unlike previous leaders who reported to Meta’s Asia pacific office.

Under his leadership, the Facebook parent firm has made a series of investments in India’s internet ecosystem including a $5.7 billion investment into Jio Platforms, the digital unit of Reliance Industries and startups such as social commerce firm Meesho, and edtech company Unacademy.

The country is also a key market for Meta's apps to test several of its features and creator tools before a broader rollout into other markets as the company witnesses growing usage and engagement levels for its products. India was among the first markets where the firm rolled out its TikTok rival Reels on Instagram in July 2020.

During Mohan’s stint, the company’s revenue has grown from Rs 892 crore in FY19 to Rs 2,309 crore in FY22, registering a nearly 2.6x growth. Profit has also jumped more than four-fold from Rs 65 crore in FY19 to Rs 297 crore in FY22.

"When I took on this role, my objective was to build a team and a company that would be a valuable ally to India and play a useful role in fuelling its economic and social transformation. This is exactly what we have managed to do in the last four years" Mohan said in the LinkedIn post.

Read: Ajit Mohan to lead Snap's expansion in Asia Pacific: CEO Evan Spiegel

That said, Meta has also faced severe criticism and scrutiny over its content moderation practices and allegations of not acting on hate speech posts by the leaders of the ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while BJP leaders have accused the platform of censoring nationalistic content.

Stint at Disney Star

Prior to Meta, Mohan served as the chief executive officer of Star India (now Disney Star)'s video streaming service Hotstar for four years. He was involved in launching the streaming service and making it the leading player in the country’s burgeoning video streaming market.

Mohan has also served various roles at Star India's television business including senior vice president and executive vice president. Before Star India, he’s had stints at consultancy firms McKinsey and Arthur D Little.

Apart from this, Mohan is currently serving as the vice chairman of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), an industry body that represents the top domestic and multinational internet companies and tech platforms.

He is also on the advisory board of the advocacy group US–India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

Disclosure: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.