Social media giant Meta’s India chief Ajit Mohan has resigned from the firm to join Snapchat as the president of the APAC region of the company.
As Snapchat's APAC President, Mohan will lead the company's India, Australia & New Zealand, China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Korean businesses.
Mohan resigned from the company with immediate effect in the late hours of November 3.
Announced his resignation from Meta on Linkedin, Mohan wrote: “After almost four years leading Meta (Facebook) in India, I am stepping down from my role. I am grateful to the company for the amazing opportunity to lead its efforts in one of its most important countries...”
Several media reports claim the high-profile exit was sudden as a meeting scheduled on the very evening had been cancelled following his disclosure, leaving the social media industry in a buzz.
Mohan had been instrumental in several investments in the Indian market including the US$5.7 billion (S$8 billion) check to Indian telecom giant Reliance Jio..
The company had recently reported a 70 percent growth in its India business to US$2.1 billion for the financial year that ended in March. Its net profit in India has also zoomed by 132 percent to US$37 million.
Following Mohan’s exit, Meta has appointed its current director and head of partnerships Manish Chopra, as the interim chief for the India business.
Snapchat’s CEO Evan Spiegel has confirmed Mohan’s arrival to their team in a press release.
"We believe that Ajit’s leadership will enable us to accelerate our growth across APAC, and we could not be more thrilled to have Ajit joining the Snap team,” he said.
Snapchat has grown fast in India and several other Asian markets in recent years, hitting 100 million monthly active users one year ago, with partnerships with leading local platforms like Flipkart and Zomato.
The company has shared data on the high engagement levels in India across content, creators, and augmented reality. For instance Discover, Snap’s in-app content tab featuring select partners, had over 140 million Indian Snapchatters watch a show in 2022.
