Facebook appoints Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan As Its New Managing Director For India

Social media giant Facebook on Monday, September 24, announced that it has appointed the former Chief Executive Officer of Hotstar, Ajit Mohan, as the Managing Director and Vice President for India. The company revealed that Mohan will be handling Facebook's business strategies in India and will be in charge of driving the company’s continued investment in the country. 

As per reports, David Fischer, the Vice-President of Business and Marketing Partnerships of Facebook was overwhelmed to welcome Mohan in the company.

Stating that India is one of the largest and most strategically important countries for Facebook, he said that the company believes that Ajit’s depth of experience will help them enhance their positive impact on the country. He also stated that this step will benefit the company to reach to more communities, organizations, and businesses across the country.

Reportedly, he also stated that India is one of the biggest markets for Facebook, as it has over 200 million users in the country. The company thus considers India as a very critical platform for investment.

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Facebook's new announcement comes amidst controversies of data breach and fake news. Following Cambridge Analytica data scandal and alleged influence on the US presidential elections, Facebook has been on its edge to improve public image. Several governments across the globe had been pressurizing the company to take actions against fake news rolling out in its platform. 

However, the company revealed that Mohan who is scheduled to join Facebook in early 2019, will reportedly head a senior leadership team in India that will work closely with businesses and government.

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The position of Facebook's India chief had been left vacant ever since former employee Umang Bedi stepped down from his position in October last year. However, Sandeep Bhushan, Director of the Consumer and Media department of South Asia had been executing the duties for the time being as he was appointed as the interim head. 

Before joining Hotstar, Mohan used to serve as executive VP and Senior Vice President, Corporate, at Star TV Network. He is all geared up to fit in Facebook's newly created role of Managing Director for India and will be reporting into Menlo Park (Facebook's headquarters) instead of Asia Pacific.