Facebook appoints Ajit Mohan as new India MD & VP
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Mumbai: Facebook has appointed Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan as managing director and Vice-President, Facebook India.
Mohan will join Facebook early next year and will be responsible for Facebook's India strategy and for driving the company's "continued investment in India".
The company said Mohan will also lead a senior leadership team in India that will strengthen Facebook's relationships with people, businesses and government. He will report directly to David Fischer, Vice-President of Business and Marketing Partnerships based in Menlo Park headquarters.
"India is one of the largest and most strategically important countries for Facebook. As we think about what it will take to achieve our mission of bringing people together and building community, we know that investment in India is critical. Ajit’s depth of experience will help us to continue to have a positive impact in India across communities, organizations, businesses and with policy makers" said David Fischer, Vice-President of Business and Marketing Partnerships, Facebook.
“I am delighted to take on the mantle of shaping Facebook’s charter in India. It is a unique opportunity to shape the agenda of a company that has brought the world closer together in one of the most exciting markets in the world. I look forward to championing India in Facebook and working with stakeholders across the spectrum to help build deep and meaningful communities across the country” said Ajit Mohan.
Mohan joins Facebook at a difficult time when the social networking giant is facing multiple allegations of misuse of data and privacy issues, spread of hate speech and misinformation on its platform among others in its largest market with over 250 million users.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp's payments service has also been held up in the country due to various regulatory and political entanglements as well as RBI's data localisation norms. The company recently appointed Komal Lahiri as a grievance officer for India, one of the key demands from the Indian government to curb fake news and act fast on complaints of violent or fake messages being circulated on the platform.