Meta appoints new India head who will assume office from January

Weeks after Meta’s India chief Ajit Mohan resigned, the social networking firm appointed Sandhya Devanathan as its new head and vice president to take over from January 2023.

She will focus on the organisation’s business and revenue priorities to serve partners and clients while continuing to support the long-term growth of Meta in India, the company said. 

Meta’s Chief Business Officer Marne Levine said their teams are pleased to have Devanathan for her proven track record of scaling businesses, building inclusive teams and driving product innovation within the firm. 

“We are thrilled to have her lead Meta’s continued growth in India,” she added. 

Devanathan has been with the firm since 2016, building its Singapore and Vietnam business and also its e-commerce initiatives in South East Asia.

She has been instrumental in Meta initiatives like the Play Forward project to improve diversity representation in the gaming industry. She is also the executive sponsor for Women@APAC at Meta. 

According to Meta, India is at the forefront of digital adoption and hence the firm has launched many top products, such as Reels and Business Messaging, in India first. It has also recently launched JioMart on WhatsApp, an end-to-end shopping support. 

The company said its new chief would strengthen Meta’s relationships with brands, advertisers, creators and partners to drive revenue growth in key channels. 

Meta India is witnessing high-profile exits with India's WhatsApp country head, Abhijit Bose, and Meta India’s public policy chief Rajiv Aggarwal quitting recently. 

While Bose announced he would launch a entrepreneurial ventures after a break, media reports hinted Aggarwal to take a senior role at Samsung Electronics' India unit.