GrabAds’ head of strategy Nasheet Islam returns to Google

Nasheet Islam (pictured), former head of strategy and partnership of GrabAds, has returned to Google as head of global strategy, app ads monetisation. According to his LinkedIn, he is now based in San Francisco.Grab confirmed the move to Marketing, adding that Ken Mandel, regional head of GrabAds and brand insights, now oversees GrabAds. Mandel joined Grab in November 2018.Islam previously worked at Google between 2007 to 2010, with his last role being head of mobile ad operations, Asia Pacific. He also helmed roles such as account manager at Google's ad network AdMob and optimisation specialist at Google, according to his LinkedIn.He spent close to two years with Grab and built up the company's advertising business unit, offering brands an online-to-offline platform to engage with Southeast Asian consumers. Before that, was the co-founder of Vallie, an on-demand parking and car services app in London. He was also the CEO of Green and Red Technologies, a display ad network in Bangladesh, and managing partner at Mangoes Mobile.In a previous interview with Marketing, Islam said while news of the platform only broke late in 2018, GrabAds was already working with "several heavy-weight clients" in the region such as Pepsi, Unilever and Shopee. It also ran more than 1,000 campaigns in the past year previously, reaching one in six consumers in Southeast Asia.Islam told Marketing that he works with a cross-functional team which includes members specialising in product, engineering, sales, operations and partnerships. He added that GrabAds takes a hyper local approach throughout the Southeast Asian region due to its diversity.