Meta's India and Southeast Asia Executive Moves to OpenAI

Serdar HocamAuthor & Editor

Sandhya Devanathan, who worked at Meta for over a decade, has left her position to manage OpenAI's operations in the Asia-Pacific region.

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Meta executive leaves for OpenAI as the social media giant faces growing scrutiny in India | TechCrunch

Sandhya Devanathan, Meta's Vice President for India and Southeast Asia, has left her role after more than a decade to join OpenAI, where she will oversee operations in Southeast Asia and Australia.

Change of Role and Her New Position

Sandhya Devanathan, who has undertaken senior responsibilities at Meta for many years, is transitioning to OpenAI and will be based in Singapore.

In her new role, she will manage consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory relations, and operational processes.

OpenAI's Regional Expansion Moves

Devanathan will report to Kiran Mani, OpenAI's managing director for the Asia-Pacific region, and will shape the company's strategies in this area.

The company has recently been rapidly strengthening its presence in the region with offices opened in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and Delhi.

Management Restructuring Within Meta

Following Devanathan's departure, Meta's India country manager Arun Srinivas will report directly to Benjamin Joe, Vice President for Asia-Pacific.

Devanathan, who had undertaken various leadership roles under the Meta umbrella since 2016, was appointed to this position last June.

Regulatory Pressure in India

Meta continues to face increasing scrutiny and review by Indian authorities regarding content moderation and online safety issues.

Discussions Involving Instagram

The government had summoned Meta executives to testify due to the restriction of a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India and allegations of inappropriate content.

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