Meta’s head of partnerships in India Manish Chopra steps down

“The recent months have been trying times for everyone in so many ways. I know this team has shown so much care and has helped each other selflessly… I am now looking forward to a new phase in my professional life. I will share more in due course,” Chopra said in his LinkedIn post.

Looking back on his time at the company, Chopra said he began with the opportunity to lead partnership efforts in India, which was emerging as one of Meta’s most important markets in 2019.

“I am grateful to the company for trusting me with building out our efforts to drive growth & engagement across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. I am super proud of the work the team and I have done to become an ally for creators and businesses around the country,” he said.

Chopra’s exit from Meta comes at a time when the tech company has been seeing significant churn at the top in India. In November last year, Meta’s India head Ajit Mohan quit the company to join rival Snap.

After Mohan’s departure, Chopra served as the company’s interim head till Sandhya Devanathan took over as Meta’s India head on January 1, 2023.

“Manish has decided to step down from his role in Meta to pursue a new phase in his professional journey. He was a part of the India leadership team for more than 4 years and played a key role in scaling our business and deepening our relationships with creators and businesses,” Devanathan said in a statement. “In his role, Manish has made enormous contributions in enabling our priorities in India. We are grateful for his service and wish him the very best for the future.”

A little over a week after Mohan’s exit, Abhijit Bose, who was Head of India, WhatsApp, also stepped down after a stint of nearly four years. Along with Bose, Rajiv Aggarwal, who was Meta India’s Director of Public Policy, also quit.

Earlier in September, 2022 Manesh Mahatme quit as the chief of WhatsApp Pay in India.

Weeks after Mohan’s exit, Meta said Devanathan was being appointed the Vice President of Meta India. “Devanthan will focus on bringing the organization’s business and revenue priorities together to serve partners and clients, while continuing to support the long-term growth of our business and commitment to India,” the company said in an official statement at the time.