Who is Chirantan Desai? Meta's pick to lead new enterprise AI platform will report directly to Zuckerberg

Meta has appointed executive Chirantan “CJ” Desai to lead its newly launched Meta Enterprise Platform, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Monday.

Meta has appointed Chirantan “CJ” Desai as Chief Enterprise Platform Officer. (Chirantan "CJ" Desai/LinkedIn)As Chief Enterprise Platform Officer, Desai will report to Zuckerberg and will lead Meta’s push to bring its artificial intelligence technology to businesses and developers.

“I am very excited to share that I’m joining Meta as Chief Enterprise Platform Officer to lead Meta’s enterprise efforts reporting to Mark Zuckerberg," Desai said in a statement. "This newly formed unit will focus on translating Meta’s AI leadership into transformative products for developers and businesses.”

Zuckerberg said, “I’m excited about beginning this new chapter for Meta and looking forward to working closely with CJ.”

Chirantan “CJ” Desai is a technology executive with more than three decades of experience across databases, cloud computing, cybersecurity, AI and enterprise software, as per his LinkedIn account.

Desai began his career at Oracle in 1995, after completing a Master’s in Computer Science and an MBA at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He spent more than seven years at Oracle and was part of the team that launched the company’s first cloud service.

Desai also earned a Master’s in Computer Science from the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science and an MBA from the Gies School of Business.

He later held senior roles at Pivotal, Symantec and EMC, including leading EMC’s Emerging Technologies Division.

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In 2016, Desai joined ServiceNow as chief product and engineering officer. He later became chief operating officer and then president and COO, overseeing products, engineering, AI research, cloud infrastructure and customer success.

Desai joined Cloudflare as president of product and engineering in October 2024. A year later, in November 2025, he became president and CEO of MongoDB.

At Meta, Desai was appointed Chief Enterprise Platform Officer, reporting directly to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. He is leading the company’s newly launched Meta Enterprise Platform, which aims to bring Meta’s AI models, agents and other technology to businesses and developers.

Desai’s technology career began at Illinois, where he has said he faced financial difficulties as a student. A research assistantship helped him fund his studies, and he has since supported scholarships and fellowships at the university.

He and his wife, Hina Desai, have funded computer science and business scholarships at the University of Illinois, including the Chirantan J. “CJ” Desai and Hina Desai Computer Science Fellowship.

His focus on education is closely linked to his own experience. Desai has said his grandparents on both sides of the family were teachers, while his mother taught for more than 30 years.

“I believe that education is the biggest income equaliser,” Desai said in an interview with Siebel School of Computing and Data Science.

He is also a guest lecturer in Stanford University.

The company has launched Meta Enterprise Platform, which will offer businesses and developers access to Meta’s AI technology, including its advanced models, AI agents and large-scale infrastructure.

“Today we are starting the next major pillar of our business, Meta Enterprise Platform,” Zuckerberg said.

Meta said the platform would initially focus on making its technology stack available to businesses. This includes the Muse agent, Meta Business Agent, Muse API and Muse Code, among other tools.

The company said its existing scale, AI models and experience working with businesses will help it expand into enterprise services. Meta also said security and privacy will be built into its enterprise products from the outset, pointing to its approach with Muse.

“Our goal is to make Meta the place enterprises come to scale their businesses,” Desai said.

Anita Goswami is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times, where she primarily covers Indian and international news. With four years of industry experience, she has led coverage of Indian General elections, Assembly elections, and national polls in the United States, Canada, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Her reporting covers global wars and major events, including Operation Sindoor, Sheikh Hasina's ouster and the Mahakumbh Mela. She verifies facts and uses clear sources to ensure accurate reporting. As former Chief Copy Editor at Storytailors, she managed teams to produce top-quality content for networks like NDTV, Profit, CNBC-TV18, Upstox and News18. Her work is featured in NDTV, Meaww, and Global Pulse. Throughout her tenure, Anita has collaborated with and been mentored by top industry experts. When not reading, Anita can be found outdoors or at a bakery. Fields of interest: Indian political history, international elections, historical policy analysis, global conflicts, cultural events, Formula 1, art, media ethics and reporting on socio-political change over time.Read More