AOL's programmatic unit appoints business lead for SEA

AOL's programmatic unit AOL Platforms has appointed a regional business lead, Carl Costa. This comes months after it opened in Southeast Asia.Costa takes on his new role with vast experience in the field of data-driven technology. Beginning his career in the UK, he worked for Enpocket, a mobile marketing company acquired by Nokia in 2005, as a member of the business's startup management team. Moreover, he also founded the ad-funded mobile gaming venture 24MAS, and also played a key role in the launch of SongHi, a socially interactive mobile music creation and gaming business.Costa has lived in Singapore for nearly three years now, having moved to the island-nation in 2012 as general manager for StrikeAd, a company that gives opportunities to bid real time for mobile advertising. He has also worked for APGM, a technology business consulting firm, as director of Asia Pacific growth management. In his time in Singapore, Costa has assisted with the startups of two local businesses: the social marketing platform Stackla and analytics tool Torque Data for media buyers and marketers.As regional business lead for AOL Platforms, Costa will introduce publishers to ONE by AOL, a leading global advertising platform used by several of the world's most prominent brands, agencies, ad networks and publishers. A unified programmatic platform, ONE enables marketers to maximise their capabilities nad achieve their campaign goals across multiple screens, formats and inventory types. Resultantly, Costa will also look to educate agencies and brands on programmatic buying and his benefits as a part of his new role.Costa will be reporting directly to Alex Khan, managing director of AOL Platforms for Southeast Asia.In addition to Costa's appointment, AOL Platforms has also strengthened its Singaporean presence with the hire of Jane Sng from Amobee, who will assume the role of client services manager. She will also be reporting to Khan, with her job requiring her to provide clients with training, support and campaign optimization assistance."Carl and Jane match our quest in bringing both culture and code to life through our investments in programmatic and video platforms," said Alex Khan. "They both understand our technology, know the region and are sold on the opportunity. Together we are committed to providing brands, agencies and publishers with the best in class programmatic solutions across all platforms and the latest hires are a reflection of that.Khan added, “Furthermore, APAC is expected to account for a third of the world’s digital ad-spend this year, and an increasing proportion of that will be video. Advertisers will be seeking effective ways of buying inventory and to track effectiveness in real-time. We provide that solution, and we know Carl and Jane will do a great job helping to spread the message across the region.”