Google taps Meta veteran Risha Magu as director, communications & public affairs

MUMBAI: Risha Magu has joined Google as director, communications & public affairs for India, marking the end of a six-year stint at Meta where she helped shape communications around some of the company’s biggest consumer and policy-led initiatives.

Magu announced the move through a LinkedIn post, reflecting on a career chapter that began in 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic. During her time at Meta, she worked closely on storytelling and communications around products including Instagram and WhatsApp, while also supporting the rollout of newer hardware-led innovations such as Ray-Ban Meta Glasses.

In her post, Magu said watching creators build businesses and communities on Instagram and seeing WhatsApp transform how small businesses engage with customers gave her a front-row seat to technology’s growing role in everyday life. She added that Meta’s culture of “bold iteration” would remain one of the key lessons she carries into her next role.

Before joining Google, Magu served as director communications, policy & innovation at Meta India from March 2020 to April 2026. Based in Gurugram, she was part of the company’s leadership conversations around public policy, innovation and corporate communications during a period of intense scrutiny and expansion for global tech firms in India.

Her move to Google comes at a time when big technology companies are sharpening their focus on AI, digital infrastructure, creator ecosystems and public policy engagement in India. In her announcement, Magu described Google as one of the few companies with the “reach, responsibility and opportunity” to shape the future of technology at scale.

Prior to Meta, Magu held senior communications roles across several global technology brands. At HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, she served as global head of communications after previously leading communications for India. She also spent over two years at Microsoft India, where she worked on consumer communications following Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s devices business.

Her earlier stint at Nokia India saw her handle product launches, crisis communications, brand partnerships and internal communications during one of the company’s most turbulent transition periods. Her portfolio included communications around Nokia’s Asha and X series devices, as well as managing messaging during the India tax case and the Microsoft acquisition transition.

Across more than 15 years in the industry, Magu has built a reputation for steering communications through both rapid innovation cycles and corporate reinventions. Now at Google, she steps into a role that will place her at the intersection of technology, policy and public perception in one of the company’s most important growth markets.

For India’s tech communications circle, it is also another reminder that the battle for influence is no longer just about products and platforms. Increasingly, it is about who tells the story best.