Meta names Arun Srinivas as India managing director and head

Facebook and WhatsApp parent Meta Platforms has named Arun Srinivas as managing director and head for India.

Srinivas has served as director and head of the ads business for Meta India since 2022, overseeing business strategy and revenue growth across the company’s platforms in the country.

Before joining Meta, he held top roles including COO and Global CMO at Ola, served as Vice President at Unilever, and also worked at Westbridge Capital.

Srinivas’ appointment comes follows the recent announcement of Sandhya Devanathan taking on an expanded role of leading both India and South East Asia, Meta said in a statement.

As part of “his new and expanded role,” Srinivas will focus on bringing the organization’s business, innovation, and revenue priorities together to serve partners and clients, while continuing to support the long-term growth of Meta’s business and commitment to India, the statement said.

Srinivas will spearhead the India charter and strengthen the strategic relationships with the country’s leading brands, advertisers, developers and partners to drive growth for India as a market.

He will transition to his new role from 1 July, and will continue to report to Devanathan.

A post-graduate from IIM Kolkata, Srinivas comes with nearly three decades of experience in sales and marketing leadership roles at companies such as Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Reebok, ola, and investment firm WestBridge Capital.

Srinivas currently serves as director and head of ads business in India.

Since joining the company in 2020, he has played a key role in leading Meta’s work with the country’s largest advertisers and agency partners focusing on strategic revenue priorities such as AI, Reels, and Messaging, the company said.

“Meta in India is leading the way in AI adoption, WhatsApp, and Reels, and Arun’s impressive track record of building high-performing teams, driving product innovation, and fostering strong partnerships makes him the ideal leader to drive Meta’s continued investment in the country,” Devanathan said.

Srinivas’ appointment comes amid ongoing tensions between Meta and Indian authorities over accusations of anti-competitive behavior by the tech giant.

In November, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) fined Meta for antitrust violations and imposed a five-year restriction on its messaging platform WhatsApp, barring it from sharing user data with other Meta-owned services for advertising.

Meta opposed the CCI’s directive, warning it could impact its business, but secured temporary relief earlier this year when a tribunal put the five-year data-sharing ban on hold.