AI lab Anthropic has appointed communications veteran Antonia Sanda to lead its communications strategy across Australia and New Zealand, marking a key milestone in the company's regional expansion.
Sanda most recently managed APAC communications for global workforce management unicorn Deel for over four years, prior to which she served as Meta’s head of communications for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific from 2013 to 2022. During her tenure at Meta, she steered the tech giant through major crises, including the 2019 live streaming of the Christchurch mosque shootings and the 2021 news blackout response to the News Media Bargaining Code. Her extensive career also includes serving as head of communications at Australian internet portal Ninemsn.
Reflecting on her transition to the AI sector following a company induction in San Francisco, Sanda shared on LinkedIn: "Just back from San Francisco, this week getting on the tools and finding my feet. There is so much to learn and I’m not yet across it all. What I have seen is that people are thoughtful and are asking the hard questions."
The strategic hire follows a series of regional investments by Anthropic, which opened a Sydney office in April and appointed Theo Hourmouzis as general manager for Australia and New Zealand. Both Meta and Deel have given Sanda deep experience working with rapidly scaling digital entities; notably, Deel surpassed US$1 billion in revenue by 2025 and heavily invested in artificial intelligence.
With over two decades of storytelling experience across global technology ecosystems, Sanda noted on her professional profile: "During this time, I’ve been lucky enough to work as a communications partner to some of the world’s most exciting companies and extraordinary minds. I’ve witnessed first hand the transformative good of technology and its challenges. I relish in telling positive narratives and finding fixes to the issues."
