Snapchat’s parent company Snap Inc. named its Asia Pacific head, India’s Ajit Mohan, as the social networking platform’s chief business officer. Mohan had joined the company two years ago.
“Ajit will be responsible for growing our advertising business across all regions, and will lead our revenue product and business operations organizations to help bring greater alignment across our teams responsible for serving our advertising partners,” the Santa Monica-headquartered company stated in its quarterly investor letter on Tuesday.
In his APAC role, Mohan was a part of the executive team and was incremental in the company’s growth. “He rapidly grew our business and presence across the region,” the company stated in its filing.
Mohan had previously served as vice president and managing director of Meta for nearly four years. He also headed Star India’s video streaming services platform Hotstar, which is now Disney+ Hotstar, as its chief executive officer.
At Star India, he also contributed to the company’s television business under various roles, including as senior vice president and executive vice president. Before that, he worked with consulting firms McKinsey and Arthur D Little.
All eyes on ads
Snap reported a 14% year-on-year rise in revenue to $1.56 billion for the quarter ended December. Money made from in-app purchases, which shows how well a mobile app is doing, jumped 70% compared to a year ago, the company added.
Snap is set to introduce two new ad features, ‘Sponsored Snaps’ and ‘Promoted Places’, in more countries, the company said, adding that it will also start testing a feature to encourage people to buy directly from the ads.
Snap’s stock soared 3.85% percent to $11.6 on NYSE following the announcement and the company’s results.
Mint reported in September that Snap would focus on expanding and diversifying its underperforming advertising business, focusing on augmented reality.
Snap competes with social media players such as Instagram, its parent company Meta Platforms, and Bytedance’s TikTok for advertising revenue.