Meta on Thursday appointed Sandhya Devanathan as the new Head and Vice President of its India business, days after the departure of Ajit Mohan, who joined Snap. Devanathan is expected to take over the role on January 1, 2023, and will report to Dan Neary, Vice President of Meta for the APAC region.
Devanathan has 22 years of experience, with an international career in banking, payments, and technology. She completed her MBA in 2000 from Delhi University's Faculty of Management Studies. She is expected to come back to India to take over her new position.
Sandhya Devanathan and her journey in Meta
Devanathan had joined Meta in 2016 as the Group Director, South East Asia, and she helped build the Singapore and Vietnam business as well as the company's e-commerce initiatives in South East Asia. She was then made the first ever Country Director of Singapore and Business Head of Vietnam. In 2020, she was transferred to the gaming business as the Vice President, Asia-Pacific, Gaming, which is one of the largest verticals for Meta globally.
As a strong advocate for women in leadership, she is the Executive Sponsor for Women@APAC at Meta and also serves on the board of Pepper Financial Services. Devanathan also promotes diversity at workplace so it makes sense for her to be the global lead for Play Forward, which is a Meta initiative focused on improving diversity in the gaming industry.
Difficult time for Meta
Devanathan's takeover comes at a time when Meta is in trouble with the Indian government, as the company is facing regulatory challenges and the government is tightening the governing laws on big tech companies. In addition, the company is in trouble over its increased spending over Metaverse and has had to let go over 11,000 employees globally.
