Meta Platforms Inc. is elevating its longtime head of Southeast Asia to be its senior-most business executive for the broader Asia-Pacific region, one of its main growth markets.

Benjamin Joe has been appointed Meta’s new regional vice president for the region, a Meta spokesperson said Thursday. The role has long been occupied by industry veteran Dan Neary, who in March said he was departing the company in the coming months.

Joe, who has been vice president of Southeast Asia and emerging markets since 2018, will be part of global business group head Nicola Mendelsohn’s team, Meta said.

Meta’s services have seen rapid growth across Asia over the years. Populous Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam have booming digital economies and hundreds of millions of users of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Joe said in a statement that he will work to use artificial intelligence to foster growth for businesses in the region.

Meta’s vice president for India, Sandhya Devanathan, will expand her responsibilities to include Southeast Asia, Meta said.