Sandhya Devanathan Joins OpenAI After Meta
Sandhya Devanathan is leaving Meta after more than a decade with the company. She will join OpenAI as vice president for Southeast Asia and Australia. The newly created role will make her OpenAI’s senior-most executive across those markets.
Devanathan announced her departure from Meta on LinkedIn on August 28. She described the decision as “bittersweet” and said she would take a short break before beginning her next chapter. OpenAI confirmed her appointment.
Devanathan Takes Regional Leadership at OpenAI
Devanathan will be based in Singapore and report to Kiran Mani, OpenAI’s managing director for Asia-Pacific. Meanwhile, her responsibilities will cover consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, operations and regulatory engagement.
In addition, she will work to expand OpenAI’s relationships with businesses, institutions and governments across Southeast Asia and Australia. The appointment comes as OpenAI increases its presence across the Asia-Pacific region.
OpenAI has established offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and Delhi. Moreover, the company has strengthened its regional leadership as demand for AI tools grows across consumer and enterprise markets.
A Decade of Leadership at Meta
Devanathan joined Meta in 2016, when the company’s Singapore office had roughly 300 employees. During her tenure, she worked across e-commerce, gaming and regional business development.
She helped build Meta’s businesses and teams in Singapore and Vietnam. Furthermore, she worked on e-commerce initiatives across Southeast Asia and later led Meta’s Asia-Pacific gaming business from 2020.
Devanathan became Meta’s India head in 2023. Later, her mandate expanded to include Southeast Asia, and she relocated to Singapore in June 2025.
During her tenure, she highlighted several regional developments. These included WhatsApp-based government citizen services in India and small businesses using Meta platforms as digital storefronts across Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.
Her move also follows OpenAI’s recent strengthening of its India leadership. In June, the company appointed Prabhjeet Singh as managing director for India. Therefore, Devanathan’s appointment adds another experienced regional executive as OpenAI expands its commercial and institutional footprint across Asia-Pacific.
