Outbrain promotes Hearne and Verma

Content discovery platform, Outbrain has promoted Anthony Hearne (pictured) as regional director of SEA, India & new markets and Gulshan Verma as general manager, SEA & India. Both are tasked to drive Outbrain’s expansion into other Asian markets in 2015.Hearne has spent the past 20 years serving in various marketing functions across agency, client and publisher businesses. His most recent role before Outbrain was marketing director of NewsCorp’s paid content strategy in Australia. Verma brings over 15 years of experience in the digital media industry, having worked in Europe, North America and Asia. Previously the country manager of Outbrain India, he was responsible for leading the setup and growth of Outbrain across India.“Over the past two years we have observed the use of content marketing building incredibly fast in Asia,” said Hearne. “Outbrain now works with most of the region’s leading brands and premium publishers powering content discovery in one open, global marketplace. In 2015, we expect content marketing to continue its growth momentum, hence our further investment in the region.”The company also recently launched Outbrain Amplify API that enables marketers and their agencies to programmatically manage and measure content marketing campaigns on the Outbrain platform. It also enables marketers to integrate their content and campaigns directly into Outbrain’s network of leading media properties.Eytan Galai, managing director of Outbrain APAC & EEMEA, added that Asia represents a significant growth opportunity for Outbrain."Our established publisher network and technological investment, in the form of Amplify API, have set the infrastructure in place. Now, we’re adding the digital experience and galvanising leadership of Anthony and Gulshan to drive our next phase of growth," said Galai.Meanwhile, Verma added that the launch of Amplify API reaffirms he company's commitment to innovation and will take Outbrain closer to its goal of an open and transparent content marketplace that can be accessed by all regional brands and agencies.