Sandhya Devanathan, Meta’s India and Southeast Asia head
In a significant leadership move, Meta’s India and Southeast Asia head Sandhya Devanathan is leaving the social media giant to join OpenAI as Vice-President for Southeast Asia and Australia.Devanathan, who has spent more than a decade at Meta, announced her departure in a LinkedIn post on Friday, describing it as an “emotional day” and saying she was looking forward to her “next exciting chapter”.“It’s been an emotional day... I’m proud of the work we’ve done together — be the millions of people using government citizen services on WA (WhatsApp) in India or the millions of small businesses in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand who opened their storefronts on our apps or helping start-ups become unicorns in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.. the stories are many and I am incredibly proud of everything we’ve built together,” she wrote.While Devanathan did not disclose her next move in the post, OpenAI subsequently confirmed her appointment. She will be based in Singapore and report to Kiran Mani, OpenAI’s Managing Director for Asia Pacific.The newly-created role makes Devanathan OpenAI’s most senior leader for Southeast Asia and Australia. She will oversee consumer growth, enterprise adoption and partnerships, regulatory engagement and operations across the region.AI toolsThe appointment comes as OpenAI accelerates its expansion across Asia Pacific amid rising adoption of its AI tools among consumers, enterprises and developers.Over the past two years, the ChatGPT maker has established local offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and New Delhi, while expanding its regional leadership team. In June, OpenAI appointed Prabhjeet Singh as Managing Director for India, one of its priority markets. Singh was previously with Uber India.OpenAI has also stepped up its India strategy through partnerships with enterprises and developers and greater engagement with policymakers. The company opened its first office in New Delhi in November 2025.OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has repeatedly identified India as a key market for the company, citing the country’s rapid adoption of AI and growing investments across the technology stack.Devanathan brings more than 25 years of experience across the technology and financial services sectors. She joined Meta in 2016 and held several leadership positions. Published on August 28, 2026
