Meta appoints Vikas Purohit to head global business group in India

Meta Inc appointed Vikas Purohit as the director of the global business group in India, the social media giant said on Monday. Purohit will work with leading brands and advertising agencies to spearhead the company’s "strategic relationship with them to drive Meta’s revenue growth and accelerate the adoption of digital tools by the largest advertisers and agencies".

Purohit will report to Arun Srinivas, the director and head of Meta’s ads business in India. Srinivas said, "Meta is committed to enabling economic opportunities for businesses, and this charter is more important than ever as we navigate global economic headwinds. India’s largest businesses and agencies are playing a crucial role in the country’s expanding digital economy and are building innovative business models. I am thrilled to welcome Vikas as he joins our team."

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore, and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Varanasi, Purohit last worked as the chief executive officer of Tata CLiQ, a digital platform of Tata Group. He joined Tata CLiQ in 2016 as the chief operating officer and was later elevated to head the company in 2018. He resigned from the company last month. 

With a career spanning 20 years, Purohit has also worked as the head of business operations for Tommy Hilfiger, head of retail for reliance brands limited and director and head of Amazon Fashion. 

Purohit’s appointment comes months after high-profile exits from Meta India and WhatsApp India. In November last year, Meta appointed Sandhya Devanathan as the new head of its India business after the former Meta India head Ajit Mohan quit the social media giant to join Snap Inc. Devanathan, who transitioned to her role beginning January 1, will focus on bringing the organisation's business and revenue priorities together to serve its partners and clients. She will report to Dan Neary, vice president, Meta APAC, and will be a part of the APAC leadership team.

India is one of the most lucrative consumer markets of Meta with more than 200 million WhatsApp and Instagram users. Amidst the global layoffs, Meta has announced laying off as many as 11,000 employees, or 13% of its global workforce owing to weak revenue and a competitive advertising market. The company has also announced cutting discretionary spending and extending hiring freeze through Q1.

In the third quarter of FY23, the company's profit more than halved to $4.4 billion as compared to $9.2 billion in the same period year-ago. The company also witnessed a contraction of its sales by 4% in the July to September quarter last year. Revenue of the tech giant declined 4% year-on-year to $27.7 billion during the quarter as competition from short-video app TikTok dragged down its advertising sales.

Meta, which announced plans to spend $10 billion a year on the metaverse, has forecasted that operating losses associated with the Reality Labs unit responsible for its metaverse investments would grow significantly year-over-year in 2023.