Meta India and Southeast Asia VP Sandhya Devanathan joins OpenAI

Leadership Transition

Sandhya Devanathan, Meta's Vice President for India and Southeast Asia, has departed the company to take on a new role at OpenAI. She will be based in Singapore and report to OpenAI’s Asia-Pacific managing director, Kiran Mani. Her responsibilities will include consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory engagement, and operations across Southeast Asia and Australia.

OpenAI's Asia-Pacific Expansion

Devanathan's appointment is part of OpenAI's broader strategy to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. This move follows the recent hiring of Prabhjeet Singh as OpenAI's India head, who previously led Uber's India and South Asia business. OpenAI has opened offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and Delhi over the past two years, indicating a focus on regional growth.

Meta's Regional Structure After Departure

Following Devanathan’s departure, Meta’s India managing director, Arun Srinivas, will now report directly to Benjamin Joe, Meta's vice president for Asia-Pacific. Devanathan had been with Meta since 2016, holding various leadership positions, including leading its Asia Pacific gaming business, before her appointment as VP for India and Southeast Asia in June of the previous year.

Context of Meta's Scrutiny in India

Devanathan's exit occurs as Meta faces increasing scrutiny from Indian authorities regarding issues such as online safety and content moderation. Recent incidents include an apology from Meta after Instagram restricted a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and concerns raised by the Indian government over child sexual abuse material on Meta's platforms. Meta stated it removed violating ads and accounts and 160,000 accounts in India over six months based on signals indicating child-exploitative activity.