YouTube ropes in Gunjan Soni to lead its India operations

YouTube on April 28 announced the appointment of former Zalora Group CEO Gunjan Soni as the new Country Managing Director for the India market, marking a crucial appointment for the Google-owned video platform in its biggest user market.

Soni's appointment follows the departure of former YouTube India Managing Director Ishan Chatterjee, who left the company last year to join JioStar.

She joins the growing ranks of women leaders at global Big Tech firms in India. Preeti Lobana was appointed as Google India's Country Manager and Vice President in December 2024, while Sandhya Devanathan currently heads Meta's India business as vice president.

Prior to this role, Soni served as the Group CEO of online fashion e-commerce retailer Zalora for six years in Singapore. During her stint, she introduced new categories and business models, while also enhancing user experience through personalisation and loyalty programmes, the company said in a statement.

Overall, Soni has over two decades of leadership experience spanning business, technology, marketing, and e-commerce sectors.

This includes a three year stint at Flipkart-owned online fashion platform Myntra where she served in several positions, first as Chief Marketing Officer and later as Head of Jabong.

Soni also served as executive vice president at Star India for nearly two years, where he headed several new initiatives in digital content and sports, including playing a key role in the launch of video streaming platform Hotstar in 2015. Before this role, she was a Partner at McKinsey in the Consumer and Marketing practice.

"Gunjan's deep understanding of the creator economy and India's video commerce landscape, combined with her leadership, will enable us to accelerate creator growth, unlock new opportunities, engage users, and contribute meaningfully to India's digital journey" said Gautam Anand, VP, YouTube APAC.

With nearly half a billion users, India is YouTube's largest market and a crucial region for its future growth strategy, especially with its artificial intelligence (AI) efforts.

"Witnessing how YouTube empowers creators and connects communities across India is truly inspiring. I'm particularly excited about building on this foundation, fostering innovation, and further enhancing the platform's role in helping creators unlock new storytelling opportunities and reach audiences globally. I am excited to work with and support our incredible partners across the ecosystem," Soni said.