OpenAI has strengthened its regional leadership team with the appointment of Sandhya Devanathan, a longtime Meta executive who will spearhead business growth, partnerships and adoption across Southeast Asia and Australia.
After spending more than a decade at Meta, Sandhya Devanathan is moving to OpenAI in a senior leadership role that puts her at the centre of the company’s growing Asia-Pacific ambitions. Devanathan will join OpenAI as Vice President for Southeast Asia and Australia, bringing extensive experience in technology, digital platforms, e-commerce, gaming and regional business expansion.
She is expected to begin her new position in October 2026, following a short break, and will be based in Singapore. At OpenAI, she will report to Kiran Mani, Managing Director for Asia-Pacific, and will be responsible for expanding the company’s footprint across some of the region’s fastest-growing technology markets.
From Meta Leadership to OpenAI’s Next Growth Phase
Devanathan’s appointment comes at a time when OpenAI is moving beyond its core AI product development efforts and placing greater emphasis on enterprise adoption, government engagement and partnerships across global markets.
In her new role, Devanathan will oversee efforts aimed at driving consumer growth, accelerating enterprise adoption and developing strategic partnerships. Her responsibilities will also extend to regional operations and engagement with regulators, as OpenAI navigates the rapidly evolving policy and business environment surrounding artificial intelligence.
A key part of her mandate will be to build relationships across the broader AI ecosystem and encourage businesses, institutions and governments to adopt OpenAI’s products and technologies.
Her experience at Meta could prove particularly valuable in this role, given her long track record of developing businesses and technology ecosystems across Asia.
A Decade of Building Meta’s Asian Business
Devanathan joined Meta when the company’s Singapore operations were considerably smaller. Reflecting on her journey, she said she entered the organisation when it had roughly 300 employees in Singapore and the technology industry was heavily focused on digital transformation.
Over the years, she became closely involved in expanding Meta’s businesses and teams throughout the region. Her work spanned ecommerce and gaming across Asia-Pacific, while she also played a role in building Meta’s operations in Singapore and Vietnam.
In 2020, Devanathan took charge of Meta’s gaming business across the Asia-Pacific region, adding another major responsibility to her growing leadership portfolio.
Her career at Meta reached another significant milestone in late 2022, when she was appointed Vice President and Head of Meta India. She formally assumed the India leadership role in January 2023, overseeing one of Meta’s most strategically important markets.
She subsequently took responsibility for Southeast Asia, relocating from India to Singapore in June 2025.
Devanathan Calls Departure Bittersweet
Announcing her departure from Meta on LinkedIn, Devanathan described the transition as a bittersweet moment after more than ten years with the company.
She reflected on the people, businesses and technology ecosystems she had encountered during her time at Meta, while also expressing excitement about beginning her next chapter.
Her tenure coincided with major changes in the digital economy across India and Southeast Asia. Meta’s platforms became increasingly embedded in the daily operations of consumers, creators, startups, small businesses and governments across the region.
Devanathan highlighted several examples of that transformation, including the use of WhatsApp for citizen services in India, the expansion of small businesses in countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, and the emergence of startups in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines that eventually reached unicorn status.
For Devanathan, those developments represented some of the most meaningful outcomes of her time at Meta.
OpenAI Expands Its Regional Leadership
The move also underlines OpenAI’s determination to establish a stronger operational presence across Asia-Pacific.
Over the past two years, the AI company has expanded its physical footprint with offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and New Delhi. The expansion reflects the growing strategic importance of Asia-Pacific to the global AI industry, both as a market for AI products and as a hub for technology innovation and enterprise adoption.
India has emerged as another important part of that strategy. In June, OpenAI appointed Prabhjeet Singh, the former President of Uber India and South Asia, as its Managing Director for India.
With Singh leading its India operations and Devanathan taking responsibility for Southeast Asia and Australia, OpenAI is assembling a leadership structure designed to deepen relationships with customers, businesses, governments and technology partners throughout the region.
What Devanathan Brings to OpenAI
Devanathan’s move is significant not simply because she is transitioning from one major technology company to another, but because of the breadth of regional experience she brings with her.
Her years at Meta gave her exposure to consumer technology, digital commerce, gaming, small-business growth, startup ecosystems and regulatory engagement. She has also worked across several culturally and economically diverse Asian markets, giving her experience in navigating different business environments.
Those capabilities could become increasingly important for OpenAI as the company works to move AI adoption from early experimentation into broader commercial and institutional use.
For enterprises, governments and institutions, the next phase of AI adoption is likely to involve more than simply deploying AI models. It will require partnerships, infrastructure, regulatory alignment, workforce adoption and solutions tailored to individual markets.
That is where Devanathan’s regional business experience could become particularly relevant.
Meta India Leadership Continues Under Arun Srinivas
Devanathan’s exit will not leave a leadership vacuum in Meta India.
Arun Srinivas, who became Meta’s Managing Director and Head for India in July 2025, will continue to oversee the company’s India operations. Following Devanathan’s departure, Srinivas will report directly to Benjamin Joe, Meta’s Vice President for Asia-Pacific, and will become part of the company’s regional leadership team.
The transition comes as Meta continues to invest in India, one of its largest and most dynamic markets, while competing for users, advertisers, businesses and creators in an increasingly competitive digital ecosystem.
A Strategic Talent Move for OpenAI
Devanathan’s appointment highlights a broader trend in the technology industry: leading AI companies are increasingly recruiting executives with deep experience in scaling consumer platforms and building regional business ecosystems.
As AI moves into areas such as enterprise software, government services, education, commerce and everyday consumer applications, companies need leaders who can translate technological capabilities into adoption at scale.
Devanathan’s experience building businesses across Asia could therefore become a significant asset for OpenAI as it seeks to turn growing interest in generative AI into sustained regional growth.
Her transition from Meta to OpenAI marks the beginning of a new chapter for one of India’s prominent technology executives and another important step in OpenAI’s expanding Asia-Pacific strategy.
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