Social media giant Facebook is in the final stages of finalising a new head for its India operations, according to media reports. The company’s vice-president for global marketing solutions, David Fischer is in the country interviewing candidates from the shortlist.
The role, however, doesn’t include responsibilities for WhatsApp and Instagram.
With 217 million monthly active users in India, Facebook is looking for a managing director at the vice-president level. The latter is a first for India operations, signaling the importance of the market globally for Facebook.
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The two previous MDs for India and South Asia — Umang Bedi and Kirthiga Reddy — were not accorded the VP title. The revised annual compensation at $2 million (Rs 13.5 crore) and stock options has attracted many contenders for the India gig.
Some of the candidates who have made the shortlist include Star India MD Sanjay Gupta, Tata Sky MD Harit Nagpal, Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan and former Karnataka IT secretary Srivatsa Krishna, among others.
Krishna, a Harvard alumnus, is the only IAS officer to be part of the shortlist. Facebook has roped in executive search firm Spencer Stuart to run the search process.
Facebook, in its job description, has said that the new India leader will be responsible for sales & marketing, partnerships, corporate and government engagement.
The candidate will report to Fischer. The job also involves defining strategic, financial and operating targets that align with a long-term strategic plan.
India intends to give Facebook room for growth, especially when it is battling privacy debates in the EU. It recorded its first-ever decline in daily active users in the US and Canada in the December quarter, indicating greater momentum coming from outside these two big markets.
Earlier this month, media reports claimed that Mark Zuckerberg has brought about one of the biggest management shake-ups in the history of the social network, giving more responsibility to his chief product officer and launching a blockchain division.
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