JioStar CEO Kiran Mani Appointed to Lead OpenAI's Asia-Pacific Operations

OpenAI Appoints Kiran Mani as Managing Director for Asia-Pacific Operations

OpenAI has appointed Kiran Mani, CEO of JioStar, to a newly created role overseeing its Asia-Pacific operations. Mani will take on the role of managing director for the region in June and will be based out of OpenAI's Singapore office, reporting to Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon.

This appointment comes as OpenAI intensifies its push into high-growth international markets, particularly across Asia, where user adoption and enterprise demand for artificial intelligence tools are rising rapidly. The company is competing with rivals such as Anthropic and Google (Alphabet Inc.) to attract users and expand its footprint.

Asia's scale and digital growth make it a key battleground, with India emerging as a central market given its population of over 1.4 billion people. OpenAI has been steadily building its presence in India over the past year, hiring its first India-based employee in 2024 focused on government relations and expanding its workforce in the country.

Read also: Treasury Yields Experience Largest Increase in Two Weeks Following Release of Labor Market Data

Kiran Mani brings over 25 years of experience in building and scaling large digital platforms across consumer technology, mobile, cloud, and media streaming. Prior to leading JioStar, he served as CEO of Viacom18's digital business, where he focused on expanding streaming and digital media operations.

Mani's career also includes roles at Google as General Manager and Managing Director for the Android and Google Play ecosystems across Asia-Pacific and Japan, and senior leadership roles at Microsoft and IBM, spanning India, the US, and Asia-Pacific markets.

Mani's Academic and Leadership Background

• Chartered Financial Analyst with specialization in economics, finance, and analytics from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts (1996-1998)
• Completed a PGDBA from IBS Hyderabad during the same period, graduating as a National Topper and Merit Scholar with a focus on business strategy, management, and marketing
• Part of the IBM Marketing Leadership Development Program (2006-2008), a global leadership training initiative conducted in collaboration with leading business schools and IBM's executive leadership.

Read also: US-Iran Tensions Spark Uptick in Oil Prices Amid Global Market Decline

The latest leadership appointment adds an operational layer to OpenAI's efforts in India and Asia, signalling a more structured regional strategy. The company has also recently announced a collaboration with the Tata Group to develop artificial intelligence technologies, including plans to build data centre infrastructure.