OpenAI Hires Meta’s Sandhya Devanathan as VP for Southeast Asia and Australia
OpenAI has appointed Sandhya Devanathan, formerly Meta's VP for India and Southeast Asia, as its new VP for Southeast Asia and Australia, based in Singapore.
OpenAI has confirmed that Sandhya Devanathan, who served as Meta's Vice President and Head for India and Southeast Asia, will join the company as Vice President for Southeast Asia and Australia. Announced on August 29, 2026, the appointment is a newly created role that places Devanathan as OpenAI's most senior leader across both regions. She will be based in Singapore and report to Kiran Mani, OpenAI's Managing Director for Asia Pacific. Devanathan spent more than a decade at Meta before making the move.
What happened
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| New role | VP, Southeast Asia and Australia at OpenAI |
| Previous role | VP and Head, India and Southeast Asia at Meta |
| Time at Meta | More than a decade (joined 2016) |
| Base location | Singapore |
| Reports to | Kiran Mani, Managing Director, Asia Pacific |
| Announcement date | August 29, 2026 |
| Years of industry experience | 25+ years across technology and financial services |
Sandhya Devanathan announced her departure from Meta on LinkedIn, calling the decision “bittersweet” and saying she would take a short break before her next move. She did not name OpenAI in the post. OpenAI separately confirmed the appointment, describing the VP role as newly created and covering consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory engagement, and operations across Southeast Asia and Australia.
Devanathan joined Meta in 2016, when the company had roughly 300 employees in Singapore. During her tenure she led the Asia Pacific gaming business and helped expand Meta’s operations in Singapore and Vietnam, including government citizen services on WhatsApp in India and helping small businesses set up storefronts in Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Why does this hire matter for OpenAI’s Asia push?
OpenAI has been building out its Asia Pacific footprint at speed. Over the past two years it has opened offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and New Delhi (the India office opened in November 2025). In June 2026, it named Prabhjeet Singh as Managing Director for India, which the company describes as a top-priority market.
Bringing in Devanathan gives OpenAI a leader who has spent a decade building commercial and government relationships across the exact markets it is now targeting. Her background spans enterprise partnerships, developer ecosystems, and policy engagement, which maps closely to the three levers OpenAI says it is pulling in the region: enterprise adoption, consumer growth, and regulatory engagement.
CEO Sam Altman has repeatedly described India and Southeast Asia as key growth markets and pointed to the region’s rapid AI adoption as a reason for deepening investment. Devanathan’s hire fits that narrative, though the practical effect will depend on how quickly she can convert regional relationships into signed enterprise contracts and government agreements.
Our take
Poaching a Meta regional chief with decade-long government and enterprise relationships is a smart, targeted move by OpenAI. It is not just a headcount addition: Devanathan brings the kind of institutional trust that takes years to build with regulators and large enterprises. That matters in markets like India, Singapore, and Indonesia where AI regulation is moving fast and local relationships are often the deciding factor in large deals.
For businesses in Southeast Asia and Australia evaluating ChatGPT or OpenAI’s API for enterprise use, having a senior local contact structure (Mani at APAC level, Devanathan at SEA/Australia) suggests OpenAI is serious about closing deals rather than just collecting pilot projects. If you are already exploring AI integration for your business, the competitive pressure from a better-resourced OpenAI regional team means vendor terms and support quality in this region should improve over the next 12 to 18 months.
Watch this space: a well-connected regional VP typically means more local partnerships, more developer programs, and faster enterprise sales cycles. That is good for businesses wanting local support and case studies, and it raises the bar for competitors like Google DeepMind and Anthropic in the region. For more context on OpenAI’s expanding global moves, browse our AI news coverage.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sandhya Devanathan's new role at OpenAI?
She is joining as Vice President for Southeast Asia and Australia, a newly created position. She will be based in Singapore and report to Kiran Mani, OpenAI's Managing Director for Asia Pacific.
How long did Sandhya Devanathan work at Meta?
She joined Meta in 2016 and worked there for more than a decade, holding several regional leadership roles including VP and Head for India and Southeast Asia.
Where does OpenAI have offices in Asia Pacific?
As of mid-2026, OpenAI has offices in Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and New Delhi. The New Delhi office opened in November 2025.
Who leads OpenAI's Asia Pacific operations?
Kiran Mani serves as OpenAI's Managing Director for Asia Pacific. Sandhya Devanathan will report to him as VP for Southeast Asia and Australia, and Prabhjeet Singh was appointed Managing Director for India in June 2026.
