Meta's Longtime Head of Infrastructure Santosh Janardhan to Step Down

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Santosh Janardhan, Meta's head of infrastructure since 2009 and co-head of engineering, will step down, with Dave Brown named as his successor. Janardhan will transition to an advisory role before leaving next year.

Meta, a leading force in the social media and technology sectors, announced a significant leadership change in its infrastructure division. Santosh Janardhan, who has led Meta's infrastructure efforts since joining the company in 2009, is stepping down from his role as head of infrastructure and co-head of engineering.

Janardhan's tenure has been instrumental in Meta's growth into a dominant internet and tech platform. In recent years, he was entrusted with heading Meta Compute, the company’s strategic initiative to expand and optimize its data center investments amid intensifying competition in artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure.

Meta confirmed that Janardhan will remain with the company during a transition period before departing next year. He will take on an advisory role focused on Meta Compute to ensure continuity and support the next phase of the company’s infrastructure development.

Dave Brown, who joined Meta earlier this year as vice president of infrastructure, will succeed Janardhan. Brown brings extensive expertise from nearly two decades at Amazon, where he specialized in compute, cloud services, and AI technologies, promising to drive Meta’s infrastructure strategy forward.

The reasons behind Janardhan's stepping down have not been publicly detailed. According to an internal memo reported by Bloomberg, Janardhan referred to the need to "pass the baton," suggesting a planned and thoughtful leadership transition.

Meta’s infrastructure expansion is a fundamental part of its competitive strategy, especially as the company scales its AI capabilities. Leadership changes in this critical area signal the company's ongoing commitment to advancing its technology foundation to support future growth and innovation.