Mumbai, August 23, 2024 – LinkedIn, the Microsoft-owned professional networking platform, has appointed Kumaresh Pattabiraman as its new India Manager and Product Head. This appointment marks a pivotal step for LinkedIn in its fastest-growing market.
Pattabiraman, who joined LinkedIn in July 2013 as the Group Product Manager for the Search and Discovery team, takes over from Ashutosh Gupta. Gupta, who left LinkedIn India in April after an 11-year tenure, has since joined Avataar Venture Partners as an operating partner.
In his new role, Pattabiraman will lead LinkedIn’s strategic initiatives in India, overseeing product development and operations. His tenure at LinkedIn has been marked by significant contributions, including enhancements to key features such as Search and Feed, and the launch of innovative products like Profile Video and Career Breaks. Pattabiraman also brings over 15 years of experience in product and engineering roles, including a notable stint at Microsoft where he worked on the Bing search engine.
India is a crucial market for LinkedIn, ranking as the second-largest after the United States, with over 135 million members. The country’s position as a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) is also noteworthy. Indian LinkedIn members use AI skills three times more frequently than the global average, reflecting the country’s rapid growth in this field.
Pattabiraman emphasized the strategic importance of India, stating, “This puts India at the forefront of the future of work and sets us up brilliantly to build in India for the world.”
In recent months, LinkedIn has made several strategic moves in India. In July, the company introduced a vertical short-form video experience similar to Instagram Reels, aiming to capitalize on the rising consumption of bite-sized content. This move followed a remarkable 20 percent year-on-year increase in membership and engagement in India, representing the highest growth rate for LinkedIn globally.
Additionally, LinkedIn ventured into gaming in May with the launch of three puzzle games—Pinpoint, Queens, and Crossclimb—available on its mobile app and website. These games are part of LinkedIn’s efforts to diversify its content offerings and enhance user engagement.