Meta, the parent company of Facebook, on Thursday, November 17, announced the appointment of Sandhya Devanathan as the Vice President of Meta India, as several key executives left the company in recent days. She will start her new role on January 1, 2023 and will report to Dan Neary, Vice President, Meta Asia-Pacific (APAC). Devanathan will be a part of the APAC leadership team and will move back to India from Singapore — where she was in charge of Meta’s gaming vertical — to lead the country's organisation and strategy.
"Sandhya has a proven track record of scaling businesses, building exceptional and inclusive teams, driving product innovation and building strong partnerships. We are thrilled to have her lead Meta's continued growth in India," said Marne Levine, Chief Business Officer, Meta. Devanathan will focus on bringing the organisation's business and revenue priorities together to serve its partners and clients, the company said.
Sandhya joined Meta in 2016 and helped build out the Singapore and Vietnam businesses and teams as well as Meta's e-commerce initiatives in Southeast Asia. In 2020, she moved to lead gaming for APAC, which is one of the largest verticals for Meta globally.
Meanwhile, amid the heightened insecurity and mass layoffs, Abhijit Bose, Head of India, WhatsApp and Rajiv Aggarwal, Director of Public Policy, Meta India, have resigned, the company confirmed on Tuesday, November 15. Shivnath Thukral, Director of WhatsApp Public Policy, India has been appointed as Director, Public Policy, Meta India (across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp in India), replacing Aggarwal.
The company said these top-level resignations in India "are completely unrelated to the recent news cycles". Meta last week sacked more than 11,000 employees, or 13% of its workforce, in one of the worst tech lay-offs that hit various teams in India.