JOIN USWhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose, Meta's Public Policy head Rajiv Aggarwal resign
Facebook-parent Meta faced a double whammy in India on Tuesday as two of its key executives in its largest market left the tech giant.
WhatsApp’s India head Abhijit Bose and Meta Platforms Inc’s public policy director in India, Rajiv Aggarwal, have resigned, a Meta spokesperson confirmed, adding that it has named Shivnath Thukral as its new group director of public policy.
The news came less than two weeks after its India head, Ajit Mohan, ended his four-year stint at the social media giant abruptly to join rival Snap Inc. Last week, Meta revealed plans to lay off thousands of employees as revenue from digital ads dropped after its clients cut marketing budgets amid rising global economic uncertainty.
A Meta spokeswoman did not comment on the potential leadership vacuum in the country following the exits.
HR experts suggested that the exits could mean bad news for Meta.
“...dipping revenue, dropping subscriber base, and lack of appeal amongst the younger generation compounded by global uncertainty. Considering the top-level exits in India they will face further uncertainty,” said A R Ramesh, Director - Managed Services & Professional Staffing,
Adecco India.
Meta spokeswoman also did not respond to requests seeking comment on the causes of the churn in its public policy arm in India and why Thukral was chosen for the top policy job.
Meta faces a host of challenges in India including women abandoning its network due to safety and privacy concerns, nudity content, app design complexity, language barriers and diminishing appeal among people seeking video content.
Facebook’s growth began plateauing in India last year, lagging sister apps WhatsApp and Instagram, Reuters reported in July, citing Meta’s own research.
“It’s been 4 years from since I joined as WhatsApp’s first country head in India, and I’m so proud of what we have built. I’m also really excited about my next gig,” Bose said in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday evening. “After a small break, I plan to rejoin the entrepreneurial world; you’ll see announcements on that shortly!”
Thukral to helm affairs
Meta will look for a replacement for Bose.
Thukral, the former director of WhatsApp public policy in India, will now replace Rajiv Aggarwal and helm Meta’s entire public policy team in the country.
"Shivnath has been an integral part of our public policy team since 2017. In his new role, Shivnath will define and lead important policy development initiatives across our apps - Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp - in India," Meta said.
Regulatory Hurdles
The changes come at a time when Meta faces regulatory hurdles in the world’s second-most populous country. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian government has been tightening laws that regulate technology companies. The Personal Data Protection Bill is expected to be released soon for consultation by IT and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
WhatsApp, the messaging service owned by Meta, has also been fighting a tough battle to fend off well-entrenched rivals such as Alphabet’s Google Pay, Ant Group-backed Paytm and Walmart's PhonePe in the payments space. Earlier this year, WhatsApp's India payment business head Manesh Mahatme quit to join Amazon India.