Meta appoints Arun Srinivas to lead India's AI-powered growth

Meta has named Arun Srinivas its new Managing Director and Head for India, a strategic appointment that signals the tech giant's sharpened focus on one of its largest and fastest-growing markets.[1] The move, effective July 1, 2025, elevates Srinivas from his current role as Director and Head of Ads Business for Meta in India.[2][3][4] This leadership change is part of a broader organizational shuffle that sees Sandhya Devanathan, the Vice President for India, expanding her role to oversee the Southeast Asia region as well.[5][6] Srinivas will continue to report to Devanathan, tasked with unifying the company's business, innovation, and revenue priorities to serve clients and partners, while fostering long-term growth in the country.[2][7]

With nearly three decades of experience, Arun Srinivas brings a rich and diverse background spanning the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), technology, and investment sectors.[5][8] An alumnus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kolkata, his career began at Reebok in 1996 before he moved to Hindustan Unilever, where he spent over 15 years in various leadership positions, eventually becoming the Category Vice President for Foods in South Asia.[9][10] This extensive experience in traditional brand building and consumer marketing is complemented by his more recent forays into the tech and startup ecosystem.[9] Before joining Meta in 2020, Srinivas served as the Chief Operating Officer and Global Chief Marketing Officer at the Indian ride-hailing giant Ola, where he managed the company's profit and loss in India and played a role in its international expansion.[9][11] He also had a stint as an Operating Advisor at the private equity firm WestBridge Capital Partners.[9][12]

The appointment of Srinivas is a key development in Meta's evolving leadership structure in Asia, reflecting a strategic emphasis on executives with cross-sector experience.[13] This change follows the recent departure of Shivnath Thukral, Meta's head of public policy in India.[2] Sandhya Devanathan, to whom Srinivas will report, also has a background that spans both finance and technology, having worked at Citibank and Standard Chartered before joining Meta in 2016.[14][15] Devanathan's own role was recently expanded to include leadership of the Southeast Asia market, indicating Meta's desire for a more cohesive strategy across these interconnected and high-growth regions.[16][14] This restructuring aims to streamline operations and enhance efficiency as the company navigates a competitive and rapidly changing digital landscape.[17] Srinivas's promotion from within, where he has been instrumental in driving strategic revenue priorities like AI, Reels, and Messaging since 2020, underscores the company's confidence in his ability to lead its ambitious India charter.[5][4]

Srinivas takes the helm at a crucial time for Meta in India, a market with over 800 million internet users and a digital advertising sector projected to reach $35 billion by 2027.[13][18] India is not just Meta's largest market in terms of user base but has also become a critical hub for innovation and testing of new products.[19] The country saw the debut of Instagram Reels and is a leading market for the adoption of Meta AI.[19] However, this immense opportunity is coupled with significant challenges. Meta is facing intense regulatory scrutiny in India, particularly from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) over its data-sharing practices between WhatsApp and other Meta platforms.[12][4][20] The CCI imposed a fine and a five-year ban on this practice, a decision Meta is currently appealing.[21][20] Navigating this complex regulatory environment while fending off competition will be a central part of Srinivas's mandate.

The implications of this appointment extend significantly into the AI domain. Meta has made it clear that artificial intelligence is the backbone of its future strategy in India.[18] The company states that AI already influences a substantial portion of content recommendations on Facebook and Instagram.[18] Srinivas, having already led Meta's work with advertisers on AI-driven revenue priorities, is well-positioned to spearhead this charge.[5][22] His focus will be on leveraging Meta's AI infrastructure, including its open-source Llama models, to deepen partnerships and monetize its platforms.[18] By enabling businesses of all sizes to utilize AI tools for advertising and commerce, particularly through platforms like WhatsApp Business and Reels, Meta aims to solidify its dominance.[18] This strategy of combining content, commerce, and conversation, powered by AI, will be pivotal as Meta seeks to unlock new avenues for growth and cement its role in India's burgeoning digital economy.[18][22]

In conclusion, the appointment of Arun Srinivas as the head of Meta India marks a deliberate move to install a leader with a proven track record in both traditional and digital-first industries.[9][13] His deep experience in sales and marketing, combined with his recent focus on Meta's key revenue drivers like AI and Reels, makes him a strategic choice to navigate the complexities of the Indian market.[5][22] As he steps into his new role, Srinivas will be tasked with not only driving business growth and innovation but also managing significant regulatory challenges and steering Meta's ambitious AI-centric vision for the future.[5][21] His leadership will be instrumental in determining Meta's trajectory in a country that is central to its global ambitions.