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OpenAI Hires Meta’s Devanathan for Southeast Asia and Australia Growth, Policy

The Singapore-based role combines customer growth with partnerships, operations and regulatory engagement, while OpenAI separately names an India head.

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OpenAI Hires Meta’s Devanathan for Southeast Asia and Australia Growth, Policy
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OpenAI has hired Sandhya Devanathan from Meta to lead a Singapore-based portfolio covering Southeast Asia and Australia. Her remit combines consumer growth and enterprise adoption with partnerships, regional operations, and engagement with regulators and governments. Devanathan will report to Kiran Mani, OpenAI’s managing director for Asia-Pacific. The appointment gives OpenAI a senior operator focused on both finding users and building the infrastructure and relationships needed to serve them. It also comes as the company adds leadership across the region. Days earlier, OpenAI named Prabhjeet Singh as its India head. Singh previously led Uber’s India and South Asia business. Over the past two years, OpenAI has opened offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and Delhi. Devanathan joined Meta in 2016 and held several leadership roles, including running its Asia-Pacific gaming business. She became Meta’s vice president for India and Southeast Asia in June of the previous year. After her departure, Meta India managing director Arun Srinivas is expected to report to Meta Asia-Pacific executive Benjamin Joe, according to a person familiar with the change. The handoff comes while Meta faces scrutiny in India over moderation and online safety, including an Instagram restriction of a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and questions about ads allegedly offering access to child sexual abuse material. Meta says it removed 160,000 Indian accounts over six months based on signals of child-exploitative activity. The reporting does not link Devanathan’s departure to those episodes. The key thing to watch is how OpenAI turns these new regional roles into adoption while navigating local regulators.

Story brief

3 key points

OpenAI is adding senior regional operators as it expands its Asia-Pacific footprint: Sandhya Devanathan will lead a Singapore-based Southeast Asia and Australia portfolio spanning consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, operations, and regulatory engagement. The move follows former Uber executive Prabhjeet Singh’s appointment as India head and offices opened in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and Delhi...

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    Devanathan will report to Kiran Mani, OpenAI’s Asia-Pacific managing director.

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    OpenAI has opened offices in five regional cities during the past two years.

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    Meta India managing director Arun Srinivas will report to Asia-Pacific executive Benjamin Joe, according to a source.

OpenAI has hired Sandhya Devanathan, Meta’s vice president for India and Southeast Asia, for a Singapore-based role covering Southeast Asia and Australia. Her portfolio combines consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory engagement and regional operations.

Devanathan will report to OpenAI Asia-Pacific managing director Kiran Mani. The role joins the company’s routes to individual and business users with the partnership, operational and government-facing work needed across the region.

Two new leadership assignments, different geographies

Days before Devanathan’s appointment, OpenAI named Prabhjeet Singh its India head. Singh previously led Uber’s India and South Asia business. OpenAI has also opened offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and Delhi during the past two years.

Meta’s India handoff

Devanathan joined Meta in 2016, held leadership roles including leading its Asia-Pacific gaming business, and became vice president for India and Southeast Asia in June of the previous year. Following her departure, Meta India managing director Arun Srinivas will report directly to Benjamin Joe, Meta’s vice president for Asia-Pacific, according to a person familiar with the change.

Scrutiny in India continues

The management change comes as Meta faces pressure from Indian authorities over moderation and online safety. Earlier this month, Meta apologized after Instagram mistakenly restricted a July post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi; the government then summoned Meta executives, including chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan, over the incident.

Last month, India sought an explanation after a BBC report found Instagram advertisements that allegedly offered access to child sexual abuse material. Meta said it removed ads and accounts that violated its rules, rejected suggestions that it knowingly targeted such ads using inappropriate interests, and said it removed 160,000 Indian accounts over six months based on signals of child-exploitative activity.

Devanathan’s OpenAI remit includes regulatory engagement, but the account does not connect her departure from Meta to these Indian episodes.

Sources

  1. techcrunch.comMeta executive leaves for OpenAI as the social media giant faces growing scrutiny in India | TechCrunch

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