Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan to join Facebook India as Managing Director

Mohan will join Facebook's India office in early 2019, sources said

Star India's Ajit Mohan will be joining Facebook India as the new managing director and vice-president. He will join Facebook India early 2019.

Mohan was among the many media and FMCG executives that Facebook had approached for the job. Others, reportedly, approached for the job include Star India MD Sanjay Gupta, Viacom18 MD designate Sudhanshu Vats and HUL's Sudhir Sitapti. 

In this newly created role of MD for India, a VP-level role, Mohan will be responsible for aligning teams, driving Facebook's overall strategy in India, and driving Facebook's investments in the country. This is a new structure for Facebook India of having a senior leader reporting into Menlo Park and not Asia Pacific.

He will lead a senior leadership team in India that will strengthen Facebook's relationships with people, businesses, and government and intensify the company's efforts to help people in India connect with the people and things they care about. 

"India is one of the largest and most strategically important countries for Facebook. As we think about what it will take to achieve our mission of bringing people together and building community, we know that investment in India is critical. Ajit's depth of experience will help us to continue to have a positive impact in India across communities, organizations, businesses and with policymakers," said David Fischer, vice-president of business and marketing partnerships, Facebook Inc. 

"I am delighted to take on the mantle of shaping Facebook's charter in India. It is a unique opportunity to shape the agenda of a company that has brought the world closer together in one of the most exciting markets in the world. I look forward to championing India in Facebook and working with stakeholders across the spectrum to help build deep and meaningful communities across the country," said Mohan.

He joins Facebook from Hotstar, Star India's over-the-top, where he was chief executive officer. He launched and build Hotstar into one of the leading premium video streaming platforms in the country. Mohan has earlier worked at McKinsey and Company’s New York office where he worked with media companies around the globe. He has also served as a Fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute, where he focused on India's rapid urbanization. He is a graduate of the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Last year, the then Facebook India MD Umang Bedi exited the company after barely 16 months at the helm. Facebook top management in India used to report to the APAC leadership until now. Since Bedi's exit, Facebook has been through a storm globally as well as within India following huge data privacy concerns across their platform and service portfolio including messaging app Whatsapp.

(with inputs from Romita Majumdar)