Who is Shivnath Thukral, Meta India's public policy head, resigning from Mark Zuckerberg's firm after 7 years due to...

Meta India's public policy head Shivnath Thukral is stepping down from his role to 'pursue new opportunities', Mark Zuckerberg's tech giant said on Wednesday. He played a key role in navigating and shaping policy and regulatory conversations and engagements that were critical for the industry and Meta in India over the last 7.5 years, said Kevin Martin, VP, Head of Global Policy, Meta. Thukral will step down from Meta as the VP of India Public Policy at the end of this month.

Who is Shivnath Thukral?

He is a well-known media and communications professional. Thukral joined Meta (then called Facebook) in 2017 and served in multiple policy roles. He was appointed director of public policy for Meta India in November 2022, following the exit of Rajiv Aggarwal.

Prior to that, Thukral served as director of public policy at WhatsApp India for about four years. He was elevated as Meta's vice-president for public policy in March 2024. "It is not an easy decision to make but I feel very confident that our policy engagement with stakeholders is at a credible and constructive juncture and we can only build further on that," Thukral said in a LinkedIn post. 

"There is always more to do and I know the team is well equipped to navigate the waters well. Having helped build some of the systems and processes, I do feel it is a good time to let the engine and the team work on their own," he added.

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His next move is unclear at the moment. "For now, I aim to focus a bit more on my running, health and family...One should never stop learning so will update on the next move which will help me learn more and do new and different things," he said. He is a graduate of the Delhi School of Economics and also has a post-graduate degree in communications from Southern Illinois University.

(With inputs from IANS)