Meta executive leaves for OpenAI as the social media giant faces growing scrutiny in India

Sandhya Devanathan, Meta's Vice President for India and Southeast Asia, is leaving the company after more than a decade to join OpenAI. Based in Singapore, Devanathan will oversee consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, and regulatory engagement across Southeast Asia and Australia. Following her departure, Meta's India Managing Director Arun Srinivas will report directly to Benjamin Joe, Vice President for Asia-Pacific. Her departure comes amid escalating regulatory scrutiny for Meta in India, a critical international growth market. The company recently faced backlash and issued an apology after Instagram erroneously restricted a post by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, prompting government summons. Additionally, Indian authorities have raised serious concerns regarding content moderation and the presence of child exploitation material on Meta platforms, which led Meta to remove roughly 160,000 accounts in India over a six-month span. The loss of a senior regional executive combined with heightened regulatory and operational scrutiny may present near-term governance and compliance challenges for Meta's expanding footprint across South Asia.