Red Bull’s Avinash Pant joins Facebook India as marketing head

Facebook on Friday announced the appointment of Avinash Pant as marketing director for its India operations. The newly created role has the mandate to drive the company’s consumer marketing efforts across the family of apps, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. He will report to Ajit Mohan, vice-president and managing director of Facebook India.

Pant’s appointment comes a year after Facebook announced new leadership structure in India bringing company’s operations under Ajit Mohan, reporting directly to its headquarters in Menlo Park.

“Consumer marketing is a new strategic area of focus for Facebook and one where we will dramatically increase our investment in communicating directly to consumers. Avinash is one of the best marketers in the country, and I am delighted that he is joining us on this exciting charter to shape the voice of Facebook’s family of apps in India,” said Mohan.

In his previous stint with energy drink giant Red Bull, as country’s marketing director, Pant’s responsibility was building the brand especially amongst the youth through partnerships and content related to sports, music, and dance. With 22 years of experience across brand categories, Pant has worked with consumer brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola and The Walt Disney Company.

In the last few months, Facebook has recruited for key roles across multiple functions such as marketing, sales, partnerships, and policy across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Over the last year, Facebook has launched several India-focused initiatives such as ‘Boost with Facebook’ and the ‘VC Brand Incubator Program’ aimed at accelerating the growth of SMBs. In 2019, Facebook also made its first minority investment in a company, Meesho, a social-commerce venture empowering first-time entrepreneurs, especially women in small towns.

The company also announced a tie-up with the Government of India’s Common Services Centre (CSC) to provide tools and training to more than 25,000 women in 3000 villages around the country. In terms of content partnership, Facebook also bagged digital rights in the Indian subcontinent of the global of International Cricket Council (ICC).