New Delhi: Rajiv Aggarwal, Director Public Policy Meta India, and Abhijit Bose, Head of WhatsApp India, have resigned from their posts. Shivnath Thukral, who previously served as the Director of WhatsApp’s Indian Public Policy, is now the Director of Public Policy for all Meta brands in India.
Less than a week ago, Meta announced its largest-ever round of employment cuts, eliminating about 11,000 positions globally. Ajit Mohan, the leader of Meta in India, resigned from his position earlier this month. He soon joined rival Snap as president, Asia-Pacific, it was revealed.
“I want to thank Abhijit Bose for his tremendous contributions as our first Head of WhatsApp in India. His entrepreneurial drive helped our team deliver new services that have benefited millions of people and businesses. There is so much more WhatsApp can do for India and we’re excited to continue helping advance India’s digital transformation,” Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, said in a statement. A replacement for Bose will be hired soon, it is learnt.
The company said Rajiv Aggarwal has decided to step down “to pursue another opportunity”. “Over the last year, he has played an important role in leading our policy-led initiatives in areas such as user-safety, privacy and scaling up programmes like GOAL to drive digital inclusion in the country. He has also been leading proactive engagement with critical policy and regulatory stakeholders,” the note said.
Thukral, a former television journalist, has been a member of the Public Policy team since 2017 and has recently concentrated on WhatsApp. In his new position, Thukral will oversee policy development projects across Meta apps in India, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, according to Manish Chopra, Director, Partnerships, India.
“We remain committed to our users in India and will continue to contribute meaningfully to the regulatory process that will enable everyone to harness the full potential of India’s digital economy,” said Chopra, who was earlier named the interim head for Meta in India following Mohan’s departure.
