Meta’s India and Southeast Asia VP Sandhya Devanathan to join OpenAI

Meta announced that Sandhya Devanathan, the company’s vice president for India and Southeast Asia, will leave the company after more than a decade to join OpenAI. Devanathan will be based in Singapore and report to Kiran Mani, OpenAI’s managing director for Asia-Pacific.

In her new role, Devanathan will oversee consumer growth, enterprise adoption and partnerships, regulatory engagement, and operations across Southeast Asia and Australia, according to OpenAI.

OpenAI has been expanding its footprint in the Asia-Pacific region, opening offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and Delhi over the past two years.

Devanathan joined Meta in 2016 and held several leadership roles, including leading the company’s Asia-Pacific gaming business, before being appointed to her current position in June 2025.

Her departure follows OpenAI’s recent appointment of Prabhjeet Singh as its India head, a role focused on the company’s India and South Asia operations.

Meta’s leadership transition in India comes as the company faces growing scrutiny from Indian authorities over issues such as online safety and content moderation.

The Indian government has recently summoned Meta executives, including its chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, over incidents including the mistaken restriction of a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Instagram.

Meta has also faced scrutiny over child sexual abuse material on its platforms, with the government seeking explanations after reports alleged that Instagram served ads offering access to such content.