Network18's Manish Maheshwari takes over as Twitter India MD on April 29

He fills in the void left behind by Taranjeet Singh, who stepped down last September; reports to Vice-president and Asia Pacific MD

Eight months after its last full-time India head quit Twitter, the microblogging platform said it has appointed Manish Maheshwari as Managing Director for the country. 

Maheshwari joins Twitter from Network18 Digital where he was the CEO since 2016. He will report to Maya Hari, Twitter’s Vice-President and Managing Director of Asia Pacific. 

Twitter's ex-country director Taranjeet Singh had stepped down in September last year, and Global Head of Revenue Strategy and Operations Krish Balaji was the interim head until now. 

Maheshwari will begin in his new role from April 29, and will be responsible for "driving an integrated business strategy to accelerate Twitter’s audience and revenue growth in the country, overseeing Twitter India’s teams in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.  He will be based in Delhi and can be found at @manishm345 on Twitter,." the company said in a statement. 

"India is one of our fastest growing audience markets for Twitter in the world and our purpose is to serve the public conversation in India. We are thrilled to have Manish join us at this important time to take our Indian business to the next level. He has a successful track record of building strong digital businesses and leading teams in India, extensive experience working at the intersection of media and technology sectors, and a deep understanding of Indian consumer trends over the past 20 years. Under his leadership, we will continue to invest in India to empower all elements of Indian society to have a public voice to be heard through Twitter," said Hari in a statement. 

Prior to Network18, Maheshwari worked at Flipkart where he headed the merchant business and seller ecosystem, txtWeb, Intuit, McKinsey and P&G. He holds an MBA with honours from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

"The future of India is digital-first and full of possibilities with the world’s largest youth population and soon, the world’s largest workforce. I’ve been a Twitter user for more than 10 years now and I’m excited to lead Twitter India now to greater heights in the country. With premium Indian content on the rise in multiple regions across the country, I believe we are scratching the surface of what’s possible with Twitter in India. With our amazing teams across India, I’m bullish about the overall impact that Twitter India can create in the country and the influence of India on our global platform," said Maheshwari.

The role of social media platforms has been in the spotlight leading up to India's ongoing General Elections, with issues of abuse, hate speech and misuse of platforms to spread misinformation picking steam. Maheshwari's role will be crucial given that the company has struggled with revenue growth in India.