From Meta to OpenAI: Sandhya Devanathan Takes on New APAC Leadership Role

Sandhya Devanathan, Meta’s Vice President and Head of India and Southeast Asia, is leaving the company after more than a decade to take on a newly created leadership role at OpenAI.

Devanathan will join OpenAI as Vice President for Southeast Asia and Australia, based in Singapore. She will report to Kiran Mani, Managing Director for Asia-Pacific, and will oversee consumer growth, enterprise adoption, strategic partnerships, regulatory engagement and operations across the two markets.

Her move marks the end of a significant chapter at Meta, where she joined in 2016, when the company’s Singapore office had around 300 employees. During her tenure, she held several senior leadership roles spanning e-commerce, gaming and regional operations across Asia-Pacific.

Devanathan took charge of Meta’s India operations in January 2023, succeeding Ajit Mohan. In June 2025, her mandate expanded to include Southeast Asia, following which she relocated to Singapore. She was also instrumental in building Meta’s businesses and teams in Singapore and Vietnam and played a key role in its Southeast Asian e-commerce initiatives.

Reflecting on her decade-long journey, Devanathan highlighted milestones including the adoption of WhatsApp for government citizen services in India, small businesses establishing storefronts across Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, and startups scaling into unicorns in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Her transition comes as OpenAI accelerates its expansion across the Asia-Pacific region. The company has established offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and Delhi, while strengthening its regional leadership team.

At OpenAI, Devanathan’s extensive experience across technology, payments, banking and digital businesses is expected to play a key role in driving adoption and partnerships across two strategically important markets.