Meta Executive Sandhya Devanathan Leaves for OpenAI

OpenAI has hired Sandhya Devanathan, who previously served as Meta's vice president for India and Southeast Asia. Based in Singapore, Devanathan will report to Kiran Mani, OpenAI's managing director for the Asia-Pacific region. In her new position, she will manage consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory engagement, and operations across Southeast Asia and Australia. Her departure comes shortly after OpenAI appointed former Uber executive Prabhjeet Singh as its new head of India.

Devanathan spent over a decade at Meta, having joined the company in 2016. Before stepping into her role as vice president for India and Southeast Asia in June of last year, she led Meta's Asia-Pacific gaming division. Following her exit, Meta's India managing director, Arun Srinivas, will report directly to Benjamin Joe, the company's vice president for the Asia-Pacific region.

The high-profile hire highlights OpenAI's aggressive expansion strategy across the Asia-Pacific region. Over the past two years, the artificial intelligence startup has established physical offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and Delhi to bolster its regional footprint and navigate local regulatory landscapes.

Devanathan's exit coincides with a period of heightened regulatory pressure for Meta in India. The Indian government recently summoned top Meta executives, including chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan, after Instagram mistakenly restricted a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Additionally, New Delhi demanded explanations following a BBC report detailing child sexual abuse material linked to Instagram advertisements. Meta responded by removing the offending accounts and noted it had shut down 160,000 accounts in India over a six-month period due to child exploitation concerns.