Meta Platforms’ India head Ajit Mohan quits to join Snap

BENGALURU/NEW DELHI : Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc’s India head Ajit Mohan has quit after four years in the role, it said on Thursday, a high-profile exit for the group in its biggest market.

Manish Chopra, director and head of partnerships at Meta India, will take over as interim head, a company spokesperson told Reuters.

Mohan will join rival Snap Inc as a senior executive overseeing the Asia Pacific region, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. Neither Mohan nor Snap immediately responded to requests for comment.

His exit comes as Facebook faces a host of regulatory challenges in the country where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration has been tightening laws governing Big Tech companies.

The company has for years faced criticism for doing little to curb the spread of fake news and hate speech in India. The platform had nearly 450 million users in India as of November 2021, while Meta-owned messaging app WhatsApp had 563 million users.

In a statement, Nicola Mendelsohn, vice president of the global business group at Meta, said the company remains “deeply committed to India”.

HT Ajit Mohan’s exit comes as Facebook faces a host of regulatory challenges.