OpenAI has appointed Sandhya Devanathan, formerly Meta's vice president for India and Southeast Asia, to a new leadership role as it deepens its footprint across the Asia-Pacific region. Based in Singapore, she will report to OpenAI's Asia-Pacific managing director, Kiran Mani.
In her new position, Devanathan will guide consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory engagement and regional operations across Southeast Asia and Australia. The move comes as OpenAI continues building out its presence in major hubs including Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and Delhi.
Devanathan spent more than a decade at Meta, where she held several senior roles, including leadership of the company's Asia-Pacific gaming business before taking on her most recent post last year. Her departure adds to a broader leadership shift in a market where AI platforms are competing to scale responsibly and locally.
The transition also follows OpenAI's recent appointment of Prabhjeet Singh as India head, signaling a sharper focus on one of its most important growth markets. As AI adoption expands, regional leadership and local partnerships are becoming central to how global tech companies shape their next phase.
This move may help define how AI services evolve across Asia-Pacific, blending innovation with stronger regional engagement in the years ahead.
