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Messenger aims at India, others, hires ex Yahoo! executive

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Messenger aims at India, others, hires ex Yahoo! executive

Facebook is hiring an influential new exec for its Messenger platform in an effort to make more inroads into India, and the rest of the world.

Anand Chandrasekaran, who previously served as a senior exec at Yahoo, is set to lead Messenger’s global charge, according to the Wall Street Journal. Facebook has confirmed the hire, but remains silent on Chandrasekaran’s job title.

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Arguably even more important than his ties to Silicon Valley are his India contacts. After departing from Yahoo, Chandrasekaran joined India’s largest telecommunications service Bharti Airtel, where he served as chief product officer. His most recent role was chief product officer at Indian e-commerce startup Snapdeal.

With Messenger hitting 1 billion global users earlier this year, Facebook is intent on capitalizing upon its success.

It is likely Chandrasekaran will be tasked with helping the app expand in Asia — where it faces fierce competition from rival messaging app WeChat — with a particular focus on India (the world’s second-largest smartphone market).

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