Meta has appointed Arun Srinivas, its current director and head of ads and business in India, as its new managing director and head of India operations, effective 1 July.

The move follows the expanded leadership remit of Sandhya Devanathan, vice president for India and Southeast Asia, who will now oversee both regions, Meta announced.

Srinivas joined the tech company in 2020 as director and head of the global business group, where he led Meta’s engagement with India’s largest advertisers and agency partners. His focus areas included strategic revenue priorities such as AI, Reels, and Messaging.

He brings nearly three decades of experience in sales and marketing leadership roles across companies such as Hindustan Unilever, Reebok, Ola, and investment firm WestBridge Capital.

In his new position, Srinivas will be responsible for unifying Meta’s sales, innovation, and revenue strategies in India. He will continue to report to Devanathan.

His remit includes strengthening Meta’s strategic relationships with key brands, advertisers, developers, and partners, with a focus on long-term growth in one of the company’s most important global markets.

Commenting on the appointment, Devanathan 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. He will continue to work closely with me as we scale the business in India.”

Earlier this month, Meta acquired a 49 per cent stake in Scale AI for \$14.3 billion in a deal that values the start-up at \$29 billion.

As part of the transaction, Scale's chief executive Alexandr Wang will join Meta to lead its superintelligence initiatives.

In a statement, Scale AI noted that Wang will remain on the company’s board of directors and continue to support its mission to unlock the power of AI while “keeping human values at the forefront”.

The firm is reportedly assembling a new team dedicated to the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI).

According to Bloomberg, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is personally recruiting around 50 experts, including a new head of AI research, to lead the “superintelligence” team.

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