Managing Director of social networking giant Facebook, Mr. Umang Bedi has resigned and will leave the company by the end of the year. He is responsible for India & South Asia. Mr. Bedi took this decision within only 15 months of joining Facebook. He succeeded Krithiga Reddy as MD and joined Facebook in June 2016.
Bedi joined Facebook at a time when the social networking giant was embroiled in a controversy around its Free Basic initiative, which offered free connectivity to select internet services in several parts of the country. Facebook was forced to drop the initiative after howls of protest.
Express Wi-Fi initiative project, was launched under directorship of Umang Bedi. Under this project, the company partners with telecom companies, internet service providers, and local entrepreneurs to help expand connectivity to under-served locations. There was also good increase in no. of subscribers’ base under his tenure.
Facebook had over 142 million Monthly Active Users as of March 2016, which jumped to 201 Monthly Active Users as of July, adding over 50 million users in just the first six months of 2017. India has now become the largest market for Facebook, beating its home turf US.
There is no announcement by Facebook about new Managing director. Several media reports said Sandeep Bhushan, director, consumer and media, South Asia, will take over as the interim head.
“We confirm that Umang Bedi will be leaving his role and Facebook at the end of this year. He’s built a really strong team and business during his time with us, and we wish him all the best,” the social network said in a statement.
Mr. Bedi had previously worked at Adobe and Symantec in senior positions. From Adobe, India Facebook had roped in Bedi as its Managing Director. At Adobe, he served as Managing Director of the South Asia region. During his tenure at Facebook, Bedi focused on growing the business, building engagement and partnerships by focusing on verticals, brands and agencies. As per the sources, Bedi left this job to start a venture on his own.
