Bijoya Roy, who served as Google's chief legal officer for India for 16 months, resigned from her position last month, two people familiar with the matter said. The exit is notable as the U.S. tech firm faces a series of regulatory and legal pressures in its largest potential market by population.
According to the sources, Roy left for personal reasons and to begin her own venture. The sources asked not to be named because the decision has not been publicly announced. Google did not provide a response to a request for comment, and Roy declined to comment.
India is an important market for Alphabet's Google. A large majority of smartphones in the country operate on Google’s Android platform, even as Apple’s market share continues to rise. At the same time, Google confronts several regulatory fronts in India: antitrust proceedings, legal disputes related to AI training, and more stringent content takedown requirements that started to take effect in February.
The resignation occurs against the backdrop of an unfilled government-facing role at the company. Last year, Google’s head of public policy in India, Sreenivasa Reddy, departed, marking the second exit from that position in roughly two years. The company has not replaced that role.
Despite the leadership turnover, Google announced in October that it planned to invest $15 billion over five years to develop an artificial intelligence data centre in Andhra Pradesh in southern India. That project represents the company's largest stated investment in the country.
Context summary
- Bijoya Roy resigned last month after 16 months as Google’s top legal executive in India, according to two anonymous sources.
- The departure comes while Google faces antitrust cases, AI-related legal challenges, and new content take-down rules effective from February.
- Google has an unfilled head of public policy role after Sreenivasa Reddy’s exit last year; the company has not yet filled the position.
- In October, Google announced a $15 billion, five-year plan to build an AI data centre in Andhra Pradesh, its largest investment in India.