OpenAI Appoints Ex-JioStar Leader Kiran Mani to Lead APAC Operations

Kiran Mani has stepped down from his role as CEO – Digital at JioStar to take on a new leadership position at OpenAI, where he will head the company’s Asia Pacific operations.

He is set to join OpenAI in June as Managing Director – APAC, and will be based out of Singapore, which serves as the company’s regional hub. In this role, Mani will report to the company’s global strategy leadership and play a key role in driving expansion across Asia Pacific markets.

The move comes as OpenAI intensifies its focus on high-growth regions like India and Southeast Asia, aiming to strengthen its presence, partnerships, and adoption of AI technologies across enterprises and ecosystems.

At JioStar, Mani was responsible for leading the company’s digital and streaming business, overseeing areas such as product strategy, platform development and overall digital operations. His leadership played a crucial role in shaping the company’s digital ecosystem.

With over two decades of experience, Mani brings deep expertise across technology, digital platforms and global markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent more than 13 years at Google, where he served as General Manager for Android and Google Play across Asia Pacific and Japan, driving scale and growth for some of the world’s largest digital platforms.

Earlier in his career, he also held roles at Microsoft and IBM, further strengthening his background in enterprise technology and global operations.

In his new role at OpenAI, Mani is expected to lead regional strategy, build strategic partnerships, and expand the company’s footprint across APAC, at a time when demand for AI solutions continues to surge across industries.

His appointment reflects OpenAI’s broader ambition to scale globally while localising its approach in key markets, particularly in regions with strong developer ecosystems and rapidly growing digital adoption.

Meanwhile, JioStar has not yet announced a successor for the digital leadership role, marking a significant transition for the company’s leadership team.