Soon after Meta reports 75% rev jump, Ajit Mohan suddenly departs to join Snap

Meta (Facebook) India country head Ajit Mohan has left the company to join rival Snap to lead the Asia Pacific region for the social media firm, as per his LinkedIn post.

Mohan’s exit was sudden as a meeting scheduled for Thursday was cancelled following his disclosure that he was stepping down, reports said.

Such a high-profile exit from Meta in its biggest market has not only shocked its staff but created a buzz across the advertising and media industry.

His departure came just a week after Facebook India reported a staggering 74% growth in gross ad revenue at Rs 16,189 crore for FY22 compared to Rs 9,326 crore in the previous fiscal. The company, which owns platforms like Instagram, and WhatsApp, net profit also zoomed by 132% to Rs 297 crore.

During Mohan’s four-year stint, Meta’s revenue grew from nearly Rs 890 crore in FY19 to Rs 2,300 crore in FY22, almost a 2.6-fold growth. Profit has also jumped more than four-fold from Rs 65 crore to Rs 297 crore in the same period.

He also led a series of Meta investments in India including a $5.7 billion investment in Jio Platforms and Meesho.

Meta’s massive India growth is in stark contrast to the company’s global performance. It has stock has lost nearly $730 billion market cap in just 12 months. Early this week, the company reported a 4% drop in global revenue for its third quarter — to $27.7 billion, from $29 billion a year earlier. Net income was $4.4 billion, down 52% from a year earlier.

“Thank you for everything you did for us here at Meta, Ajit! Wishing you great success at Snap! They are very lucky to have you and I'm sure you will do wonders at Snap too!,” Rajan Kuppan, Enterprise Operations Manager at Meta commented on Mohan’s LinkedIn post.

Ajit Mohan joined Facebook India in January 2019 as the Managing Director and Vice-President, a role specially created for him. Mohan was also the first India chief to directly report to the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, US. His predecessors reported to Meta’s Asia Pacific office.

Mohan is also credited with launching and building Hotstar into India's leading premium video streaming platform before joining Meta.

An alumnus of Johns Hopkins University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Mohan was earlier at McKinsey and its New York office, working with media companies around the globe. He also served as a Fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute, where he focused on India's rapid urbanization.