Meta elevates advertising head Arun Srinivas as MD and head of Meta in India

Meta Platforms said on Monday that it has appointed Arun Srinivas, currently the director and head of ads business in India, as the managing director and head of Meta in India, effective July 1.

Srinivas’ appointment follows the recent announcement by Meta that Sandhya Devanathan, vice president of Meta in India, has taken on an expanded role of leading Meta’s operations both in India and Southeast Asia. After transitioning to his new role, Srinivas will continue to report to Devanathan.

“As India continues to be at the forefront of economic growth and innovation, we are excited to have Arun (Srinivas) at the helm of our efforts in this critical market. Meta in India is leading the way in AI adoption, WhatsApp, and Reels,” said Devanathan.

In his new role, Srinivas will focus on bringing the organisation’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. He 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. 

As the director and head of the ads business in India—a role he has held since 2020—Srinivas has played a pivotal 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.

Srinivas will also be helming Meta India at a time when the company has been under the regulatory scanner in the country. In November last year, the Competition Commission of India had levied a fine of ₹213 crore on Meta for abusing its dominant position.

The antitrust regulator directed WhatsApp not to share user data collected on its platform with other Meta companies or products for advertising purposes for five years. The fine relates to how WhatsApp's 2021 Privacy Policy was implemented and how user data was collected and shared with other Meta companies.

Meta had said that it disagreed with the fine and forewarned that it would hurt its business in India, sharply rebuking the CCI for “not having the technical expertise to understand the ramifications of the order.” In January, however, Meta got a reprieve from the antitrust regulator’s five-year data sharing ban when the National Company Law Tribunal temporarily suspended the ban, which, according to Meta, could have upended its advertising business in India.