Sandhya Devanathan, Vice President and Head of India and Southeast Asia at Meta, has announced her departure from the company after more than a decade of service. Announcing her departure in a LinkedIn post, Devanathan described the decision as 'bittersweet', acknowledging the difficulty of leaving the company and colleagues who have been part of her professional journey. She indicated plans to take a short break before moving on to her next chapter, though specific details of her future plans were not disclosed. As per multiple reports, her departure represents a significant leadership change for Meta's operations in the India and Southeast Asia region, with the company maintaining its focus on regional growth and user engagement initiatives.
Sandhya Devanathan has announced her departure from Meta to join OpenAI as Vice President for Southeast Asia and Australia. She will be based in Singapore and report to Kiran Mani, Managing Director for Asia-Pacific. In this newly created role, Devanathan will serve as OpenAI's most senior leader in Southeast Asia and Australia, with responsibility for consumer growth, enterprise adoption and partnerships, regulatory engagement, and operations. She will start her role in October 2026. In her LinkedIn post, Devanathan expressed pride in her teams' achievements, stating 'I shared with my teams today that I am extraordinarily proud of how they've shown up every day, doing the best work they can in an industry that is rapidly evolving. I'm proud of the work we've done together'. The announcement comes as Meta continues its operations across India and Southeast Asia markets, with the company maintaining its focus on regional growth and user engagement initiatives.
Devanathan's tenure at Meta spans more than a decade, during which she held the position of Vice President and Head of India and Southeast Asia. She joined the company in 2016 when Meta had around 300 employees in Singapore, as she recalled in her LinkedIn post. During her early years, she helped build Meta's businesses and teams in Singapore and Vietnam and worked on the company's e-commerce initiatives across Southeast Asia. In 2020, she took charge of Gaming for Asia-Pacific, one of Meta's largest global verticals. In 2023, Devanathan was appointed Vice President of Meta India, where she was responsible for bringing together the company's business and revenue priorities while working with partners and clients and supporting Meta's long-term growth in India. She brings more than two decades of experience across banking, payments and technology, with an international career spanning multiple markets. During her tenure, Devanathan highlighted several key milestones including the adoption of WhatsApp for government citizen services in India, small businesses launching storefronts in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, and startups scaling into unicorns in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. As per Business Standard, she stated 'I joined Meta when we had just about 300 employees in Singapore. The landscape looked so different in 2016 - everyone was talking about digital transformation. And we were right in the midst of it - helping startups, companies, creators and the ecosystem grow across the region while delivering great experiences for our hundreds of millions of our users'. With more than 25 years of experience spanning technology and financial services, Devanathan brings significant regional and commercial experience to her new role.
Devanathan became Meta India's vice president in January 2023, succeeding former country head Ajit Mohan. In June 2025, she took on an expanded role overseeing Meta's Southeast Asia business and moved to Singapore. The company subsequently appointed Arun Srinivas as managing director and head of India operations in July 2025. During her tenure, she oversaw the company's operations in India, one of Meta's most important global markets with more than a billion users. Benjamin Joe, Meta's vice president for Asia Pacific region, praised Devanathan's contributions, stating 'I'm deeply grateful for your contributions. Excited to welcome Arun Srinivas into my leadership team as he continues to build on the foundation you laid and take Meta India forward'. As per Business Standard, Arun Srinivas, managing director and country head at Meta, who previously reported to Devanathan, will now report directly to Joe. The company's focus on India remains crucial for Meta's future growth, with Devanathan's time allowing her to work across sectors including e-commerce and gaming while building teams in India and Southeast Asia.
Devanathan's appointment at OpenAI comes as the company steps up its expansion across Asia-Pacific, seeking to increase adoption of its artificial intelligence products among consumers, businesses and developers. The newly created position is intended to strengthen OpenAI's leadership and execution capabilities across some of Asia-Pacific's fastest-growing technology markets amid growing competition among global technology companies. Her role will focus on consumer adoption, enterprise partnerships, regulatory engagement and operations across Southeast Asia and Australia. She will also focus on expanding the company's user base and strengthening ties with governments, institutions and technology stakeholders across the same region. The move comes as OpenAI continues building its physical and operational footprint across Asia-Pacific, including teams and offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and New Delhi. As per Business Standard, Devanathan's move represents a significant addition to OpenAI's regional leadership team as the company accelerates its expansion strategy across the Asia-Pacific region.
