Meta’s India and Southeast Asia vice president Sandhya Devanathan is leaving the social media company to join OpenAI, marking a significant executive move as both companies continue to expand their presence across Asia.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, confirmed that Devanathan will join its Asia-Pacific leadership team. She will be based in Singapore and report to OpenAI’s Asia-Pacific managing director, Kiran Mani.
In her new role, Devanathan will oversee several important areas, including consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory engagement and operations across Southeast Asia and Australia.
Sandhya Devanathan Moves From Meta to OpenAI
Devanathan is leaving Meta after more than a decade with the company. She joined Meta in 2016 and held several senior leadership positions during her tenure.
Before becoming Meta’s vice president for India and Southeast Asia, Devanathan led the company’s Asia-Pacific gaming business and worked across several strategic areas.
She was appointed to her current regional leadership position in June 2025, giving her responsibility for two important and rapidly growing markets for Meta.
Her move to OpenAI comes at a time when the AI company is increasing its investment and presence across the Asia-Pacific region.
OpenAI has opened offices in several major cities, including Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and New Delhi, as it works to expand adoption of its AI products among consumers and businesses.
OpenAI Strengthens Its Asia-Pacific Leadership
Devanathan’s appointment is another sign of OpenAI’s growing focus on international markets.
The company has been building its leadership team in Asia, including hiring Prabhjeet Singh as its India head earlier this year. Singh previously spent more than a decade at Uber, where he led the company’s India and South Asia operations.
With Devanathan joining the organization, OpenAI will gain an executive with extensive experience in regional operations, consumer products, partnerships and regulatory engagement.
Her experience at Meta could also prove valuable as OpenAI works with governments, businesses and consumers across countries with very different technology markets and regulatory environments.
Changes to Meta’s India Leadership
Following Devanathan’s departure, Meta’s India managing director Arun Srinivas is expected to report directly to Benjamin Joe, Meta’s vice president for Asia Pacific.
The leadership change comes during a period of increased scrutiny of Meta’s operations in India.
India is one of Meta’s most important markets, with millions of people using platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. As a result, decisions involving content moderation, online safety and platform policies can attract significant attention from regulators and government officials.
Meta Faces Increasing Scrutiny in India
Meta has faced several challenges in India in recent months.
Earlier in August, the company apologized after Instagram mistakenly restricted a post from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The incident prompted Indian authorities to summon Meta executives for discussions about the platform’s moderation and content policies.
The company has also faced questions over the presence of advertisements allegedly offering access to child sexual abuse material on Instagram.
Indian authorities requested an explanation from Meta after reports raised concerns about such advertisements appearing on the platform.
Meta said it removed violating advertisements and accounts and rejected claims that it knowingly targeted users with such advertisements based on inappropriate interests.
The company also said it had removed approximately 160,000 accounts in India over a six-month period after detecting signals associated with child-exploitative activity.
What Devanathan’s Move Means for OpenAI
For OpenAI, bringing in an experienced technology executive from Meta could strengthen its regional strategy.
Asia-Pacific represents a major opportunity for AI companies as businesses, developers and consumers increasingly adopt generative AI tools.
Devanathan’s new responsibilities will cover consumer growth, enterprise adoption and partnerships, suggesting that OpenAI is looking beyond simply increasing ChatGPT usage.
Enterprise adoption is particularly important as companies explore AI for customer service, software development, research, productivity and other business operations.
Her responsibility for regulatory engagement could also become increasingly important as governments across Asia introduce new rules and policies surrounding artificial intelligence, privacy, online safety and digital platforms.
OpenAI Continues Its Expansion Across Asia
OpenAI has significantly expanded its physical and business presence in the Asia-Pacific region over the past two years.
The company has established offices and operations in markets including Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore and India.
India, in particular, is becoming an increasingly important market for AI companies due to its large population, rapidly growing digital economy and expanding technology sector.
OpenAI’s growing leadership team in the region indicates that the company sees long-term potential in Asian markets.
A Significant Executive Transition
Sandhya Devanathan’s departure represents an important leadership change for Meta in India and Southeast Asia while giving OpenAI an experienced executive as it expands its regional operations.
The timing is also notable because Meta is facing increased regulatory and public scrutiny in India over content moderation, online safety and the protection of young users.
Meanwhile, OpenAI is continuing to build its presence throughout Asia-Pacific and strengthen its relationships with consumers, businesses and governments.
The move highlights the intense competition for experienced technology executives as major companies increasingly focus on artificial intelligence and digital platforms.
For OpenAI, Devanathan brings years of experience managing large technology businesses in Asia. For Meta, the challenge will be maintaining leadership and momentum in one of its most strategically important international markets.
As both companies continue to expand their operations, Devanathan’s transition from Meta to OpenAI will be closely watched by the technology industry, particularly in India and Southeast Asia.
