Google India country manager Sanjay Gupta has been elevated as the president for Asia Pacific region, Moneycontrol has learnt, marking a key promotion in crucial geography for the tech giant.
Gupta will be taking over from the current Asia Pacific president Scott Beaumont who is retiring from the company by the end of this year after a nearly 16-year stint. The announcement was made to Google employees through an internal email, Moneycontrol has learnt.
Gupta will relocate to Singapore in the coming months and Google will start the process to hire a new India head shortly.
In the interim, Roma Datta Chobey, who is currently serving as Google India's managing director - Digital Native Industries, Media and Entertainment and government, will lead the company's LCS (Large Customer Sales) unit, a team that sells ads to large businesses.
While Google is yet to respond to Moneycontrol's queries, Sanjay Gupta and Scott Beaumont have confirmed their respective moves on LinkedIn.
"Google is now at the forefront of an exciting new age of technology with AI. I shall look forward to following the progress, but happily now pass on the baton to my friend and colleague Sanjay Gupta" Beaumont said in a LinkedIn post on July 24.
"Since our first meeting five years ago, I have seen Sanjay’s drive to think ambitiously about how technology can be a power for good in the development of his home country: India. He now has the opportunity to pursue that same calling more broadly across Asia Pacific" he said.
Beaumont also stated that he looks forward to offering his support during Gupta's initial months in the position.
Read: Google woos India's booming AI developer community with new tools, access to latest models
'Asia heart of global innovation'
Gupta joined Google in January 2020 as the country manager for the India market. He also serves as Google's Vice President of Sales and Operations for the country.
India is Google's largest market in terms of users and a critical region for its future growth, including its artificial intelligence efforts.
Apart from India, Google's Asia Pacific region also includes Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Southeast Asia countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore.
The tech giant reported revenues of $13.8 billion from the Asia Pacific region in Q2 2024, contributing for 16.3 percent of Google parent Alphabet's overall revenues for the quarter.
"APAC isn't just any region; it's the heart of global growth and innovation, home to half the world's population and poised to lead the tech revolution," Gupta said in a LinkedIn post on July 24.
"APAC has tech savvy users, skilled human capital, a thriving developer and startup ecosystem, and governments that see AI as a path to economic growth" he said.
Gupta said Google has grown its footprint in the region, invested in technical infrastructure, focused on skills development and partnered with the technical and scientific community in the region to fuel APAC’s growth.
Before joining Google, Gupta was the managing director of Star and Disney India, where he played a key role in building the company into one of the country's largest media firms. He was involved in the launch of Hotstar (now Disney+ Hotstar), which is currently the market leader in India's video streaming market.
Gupta also built Star’s sports business through acquisitions of cricketing properties and the launch of the Pro-Kabaddi League and football league, Indian Super League. He also had stints at Hindustan Unilever Limited and Bharti Airtel.
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