Facebook Puts Karandeep Anand in Charge of Its 'Workplace' Business

Facebook has elevated its senior Indian-origin executive Karandeep Anand to head Workplace - the company's two-year-old enterprise communication tool now being used by over 30,000 organisations globally including in India.

Anand, who was earlier Head of Product for Facebook Marketplace and Payments services, would handle the product team and work closely with Julien Codorniou, current Vice President of Workplace, a Facebook spokesperson told IANS on Wednesday.

"We're thrilled that Karandeep is joining Workplace as its new head of Workplace, effectively immediately. Karandeep joins Workplace from Marketplace, and brings with him a wealth of experience from both a consumer and enterprise background," said the spokesperson.

As Head of Product for Marketplace and Payments tools, Anand's team was responsible for powering commerce across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

"Karandeep will be partnering closely with Julien Codorniou, who will stay in his current VP role to lead Workplace sales and partnerships," the spokesperson added.

Before joining Facebook nearly four years back, Anand who is an alumnus of International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad, spent 15 years at Microsoft in various key roles.

"I'm excited to now be part of the journey of bringing Workplace to companies across the globe and help them unlock the potential of their biggest asset - people," Anand wrote on his LinkedIn profile.

Facebook launched Workplace in 2016 to help make companies more connected and productive.

Currently, more than 30,000 organisations are using Workplace worldwide - including Walmart, Heineken, Spotify, Lyft and the Reliance Group.

"A company's culture is leading indicator of its success and the productivity of its work force. Workplace brings the power of shaping culture by connecting people at work in ways never imagined before," Anand wrote.

Facebook in 2017 launched the desktop version of its Workplace Chat app that can be downloaded by anyone on PC, Mac, Android or iOS.

Workplace Chat includes video chat with a co-worker or group, screen sharing and file sharing.

"Workplace is one of the fastest growing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product and a key growth area for Facebook," said Anand.