Ajit Mohan is an Indian technology executive who is currently serving as the Chief Business Officer of Snap Inc. Previously, he was the President for the Asia-Pacific operations where he is credited with rapidly growing the company's business and presence across the region. He was also vice president and managing director of Meta India (formerly Facebook India) and the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Star India Disney Star (also known as JioStar), registered as JioStar India Private Limited, is an Indian media conglomerate joint venture owned with a share of 16.34% by Reliance Industries, 46.82% by Viacom18 and 36.84% by Disney India. On 14 Nove ...

streaming media Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a Computer network, network for playback using a Media player (disambiguation), media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of Network packet, packets from a Server (computing), ...

platform

Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar, also known as JioHotstar or simply Hotstar, is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Disney Star. The brand was introduced as Hotstar for a streaming service carrying content from Di ...

. Mohan was a consultant for the firms Arthur D. Little and

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...

earlier in his career, and he was a member of the Internet and Mobile Association of India and the Museum of Art & Photography, among other organizations.

Early life and education

Mohan was born in

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. His father completed

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...

work for the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

and fought in the

Sino-Indian War The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...

. Mohan was raised in Eloor's Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited neighborhood. In 1993, at the age of 18, he received a scholarship and boarded his first flight to study in Singapore, where he earned a

Bachelor of Applied Science A Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS or BASc) is an undergraduate academic degree of applied sciences. Usage In Canada, the Netherlands and other places the Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) is equivalent to the Bachelor of Engineering, and is cl ...

degree in

computer engineering Computer engineering (CE, CoE, or CpE) is a branch of engineering specialized in developing computer hardware and software. It integrates several fields of electrical engineering, electronics engineering and computer science. Computer engi ...

from

Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1981, it is also the second oldest autonomous university in the country. The university is organised across numerous colleges and schools, includi ...

. Mohan also earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

from the

Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies The School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C. The school also maintains campuses in Bologna, Italy and Nanjing, China. The school is devoted to the study of int ...

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree in finance from the

Wharton School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Career

Mohan's career began at the international

management consulting Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...

firm Arthur D. Little in 1997. He became a consultant at

in 2005. According to ''

Mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

'', he was based in the United States and focused on "media projects that required him to work closely with film and TV studios, production companies, children's entertainment companies, women's apparel and footwear, and online gaming". He returned to India as a fellow at McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) in 2008, and worked with clients that included the

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is a ministry of the Government of India with executive authority over the formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the housing and urban development in In ...

, the Planning Commission, and the

International Center for Research on Women The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) is a non-profit organization with offices located in Washington, D.C., United States, New Delhi, Ranchi, and Jamtara, India, Nairobi, Kenya, and Kampala, Uganda. ICRW works to promote gende ...

. He co-authored MGI's 2010 report "India's Urban Awakening: Building inclusive cities, sustaining economic growth", which addressed urbanization in India. Mohan also wrote ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' Weekend Panorama column for India Real Time regularly, as of 2011. In April 2012, Mohan joined the Star Network, where he held various roles including senior vice president and executive vice president. He became the head of its digital business in 2013, from where he launched the live sports platform Starsports.com and

platform

in 2015, and was later named

(CEO) in April 2016. According to '' Fortune India'', Mohan "played an important role in Star India's foray into video streaming when Star Sports started to live stream the

ICC World Twenty20 The ICC Men's T20 World Cup, formerly the ICC World Twenty20, is a biennial world cup for cricket in Twenty20 International (T20I) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was held in every odd year from 2007 to 2009, ...

cricket tournament in 2014". In September 2018, Mohan was named vice president and managing director of Facebook India, where he oversaw

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

's Indian operations starting in January 2019. In 2020, Mohan appeared before the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

's Standing Committee on Information Technology, which was led by a member of the opposition Congress party, on behalf of Facebook India to discuss "safeguarding citizens' rights" and the "prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms". In 2021, he was summoned by the

Delhi Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi is the unicameral legislature of the union territory of Delhi in India. Delhi Legislative Assembly is the legislative arm of the Government of Delhi. At present, it consists ...

's Peace and Harmony Committee to appear as a witness on behalf of Facebook India in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots. A representative of the Assembly said Mohan was asked to lend his expertise and provide recommendations in order to prevent similar incidents fueled by social media, and no "coercive action" was intended. According to ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'', Mohan told the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

"that he was well within his rights to remain silent" and " idnot wish to be part of a highly polarised political debate". He "accused the Assembly of threatening him with '

breach of privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. ...

' if he did not appear before the Committee to testify" and filed a plea, which was dismissed by the Supreme Court in July. Instead of Mohan, Facebook India's public policy director appeared before the Committee in November. Following Facebook Inc.'s rebrand in 2021, Mohan worked at the same role at Meta India. He stepped down from the role as vice president and

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

India Online Services Pvt Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of

Meta Platforms Meta Platforms, Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Meta owns and operates several prominent social media platforms and communication services, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads ...

in November 2022 to join rival

Snap Inc Snap Inc. is an American technology company, founded on September 16, 2011, by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown (Snapchat), Reggie Brown based in Santa Monica, California. The company developed and maintains technological products an ...

. From January 2023, he will be succeeded in the role by Sandhya Devanathan (current vice president and managing director of Meta India).

Board service and recognition

Mohan was elected vice chairman of the Internet and Mobile Association of India in 2021. He has also been chairman of the organization's Entertainment Sub Committee. In 2021, Mohan became an advisory board member of the US–India Strategic Partnership Forum, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., which promotes "stronger US-India bilateral commercial and strategic ties". He is also a member of the Mobile Marketing Association and the

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

-based Museum of Art & Photography. Writers for ''Fortune India'' have credited Mohan for leading Hotstar "to great success". Liz Shackleton of ''

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...

'' credited him for helping to build the platform into "India's biggest online video service". ''

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...

'' ranked Mohan number 48 in a 2020 "power list" of 50 people who " iseabove the ordinary in extraordinary times". The magazine called him a "leader in the country's social media domain" and credited him for doubling Facebook India's profit. In 2021, ''India Today'' included Mohan in a list of 50 "high and mighty" people, in which he was described as "arguably the czar of India's social media space".

Personal life

Mohan lives in Singapore. Previously, he was based in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, as of 2011. His wife Radhika Bansal is a former publisher at Harvard Business Publishing who co-founded Swishlist.in, described by ''Mint'' as an "online rental company for women's designer brands". The couple have children. Mohan collects art, enjoys cricket, and plays tennis. He is an angel investor in the audio

over-the-top media service An over-the-top media service (also known as over-the-top television, or simply OTT) is a digital distribution service of video and audio delivered Direct-to-consumer, directly to viewers via the public Internet, rather than through an Terrestria ...

Headfone.

Publications

References

External links

Ajit Mohan
at '' Fortune India'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mohan, Ajit Living people Indian chief executives McKinsey & Company people Meta Platforms people Nanyang Technological University alumni Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni Wharton School alumni 1970s births