Meta’s Indian American infrastructure chief Santosh Janardhan to step down after 17 years

# Meta Infrastructure Chief Santosh Janardhan to Step Down After 17 Years, Dave Brown Named Successor

Meta Platforms is preparing for a major leadership transition in its technology organization, with Indian American executive Santosh Janardhan set to step down as head of infrastructure and co-head of engineering after more than 17 years at the company. Janardhan is expected to leave his current position in early 2027, marking the end of a long career during which he helped build and manage the infrastructure supporting Meta's global social media platforms. Dave Brown, who joined the company earlier this year as vice president of infrastructure, will take over his responsibilities.

Janardhan will remain at Meta during the transition period to help ensure a smooth handover before moving into an advisory role with Meta Compute. The initiative focuses on expanding the company's data center infrastructure and computing capabilities as it increases investments in artificial intelligence. Meta confirmed the leadership change but did not provide a specific reason for Janardhan's decision to step down.

In an internal memo to employees, Janardhan described the transition as the right time to pass leadership responsibilities to someone else. He emphasized Brown's experience in building and operating dependable infrastructure for demanding technology workloads. Janardhan said the company was preparing to make important decisions about its future priorities and believed Brown had the technical expertise, judgment and leadership capabilities needed to guide that work.

Janardhan joined Facebook, now Meta, in 2009. During his more than 17 years with the company, he became one of the key executives responsible for developing the technology systems that support its growing global operations. As Facebook expanded and added platforms such as Instagram and WhatsApp, the company required increasingly sophisticated infrastructure to manage billions of users, enormous amounts of data and growing computing demands.

As head of infrastructure and co-head of engineering, Janardhan oversaw important areas including data centers, networking, servers and computing operations. His responsibilities involved maintaining the systems that keep Meta's services running while supporting the company's expanding engineering requirements. The infrastructure under his leadership has played a central role in enabling Meta to operate its major applications across international markets.

Earlier this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg assigned Janardhan to lead Meta Compute as the company began expanding its computing resources to support its artificial intelligence ambitions. The initiative reflects Meta's efforts to build the infrastructure needed to develop and operate advanced AI systems. The company is competing with major technology players, including Google, Microsoft and OpenAI, which are also investing heavily in data centers and computing capacity.

Dave Brown will now take over Janardhan's infrastructure responsibilities. Before joining Meta, Brown spent nearly 19 years at Amazon, where he worked extensively on cloud computing, infrastructure and artificial intelligence technologies through Amazon Web Services. His experience managing large-scale technology systems is expected to support Meta's plans to expand its computing operations and strengthen its AI capabilities.

A Meta representative confirmed that Janardhan would remain involved during the handover and subsequently move into an advisory position with Meta Compute. This arrangement will allow the company to retain his institutional knowledge and technical experience while Brown assumes direct leadership of the infrastructure organization.

The leadership change comes as Meta continues to increase spending on artificial intelligence and the physical infrastructure required to support it. The company has projected capital expenditures of between $135 billion and $145 billion for the year, with a significant portion directed toward data centers, servers and other computing equipment. These investments are intended to expand its capacity to train and operate advanced AI models and introduce new AI-powered products across its platforms.

The scale of Meta's spending has also raised questions among investors about the financial impact of its long-term technology strategy. In its third-quarter financial report, the company recorded negative free cash flow of approximately $2.12 billion. The substantial investment requirements reflect the growing cost of competing in the AI industry, where companies must secure access to powerful processors, energy, data centers and specialized engineering resources.

Despite the financial pressure associated with these investments, Zuckerberg has continued to describe artificial intelligence as a central priority for Meta's future. The company is working to strengthen its AI infrastructure and develop capabilities that can support its social media, advertising and emerging technology businesses. Maintaining reliable computing systems will be essential as its AI operations expand.

Meta's leadership transition therefore comes at a critical moment for its infrastructure strategy. Brown will inherit responsibility for systems that support the company's worldwide services while overseeing further expansion to meet increasing AI computing requirements. Janardhan's move into an advisory role will provide continuity as Meta enters its next phase of infrastructure development.

Meta shares closed at $628.77 on November 11, declining $12.62, or approximately 1.97%, during the trading session. The stock later traded at $624.90 in after-hours trading. As the company prepares for Janardhan's departure, investors and industry observers will be watching how the new leadership team manages its large infrastructure commitments and translates its AI investments into long-term business growth.