OpenAI eyes deeper APAC growth with new marketing head

OpenAI has named Jennifer Lien (pictured) as head of marketing for APAC, as the company ramps up efforts to drive adoption and relevance across the region. Based in Singapore, Lien will oversee marketing across consumer and B2B segments, spanning brand, user growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, and market-specific go-to-market strategies.

Speaking to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Lien said her remit is focused on ensuring OpenAI is not just present across APAC markets, but “meaningfully understood and adopted” at scale.

Her appointment comes as AI uptake surges across the region, with both businesses and consumers increasingly experimenting with real-world applications, from productivity gains to workflow transformation.

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In her first year, Lien said the focus will be on building a regional team with deep local expertise, while sharpening a market-by-market strategy across APAC. “Success comes from combining global ambition with local precision,” she said.

She added that relevance in the region requires a nuanced understanding of each market, with priorities expected to differ significantly across APAC’s diverse landscape.

Over the next six to 12 months, OpenAI is expected to deepen its footprint across priority markets, with a stronger push into practical, everyday AI use cases alongside enterprise adoption.

Lien said the goal is to move beyond awareness and into sustained usage and measurable business impact, including deeper product engagement and stronger enterprise integration.

She also pointed to a shift in how markets are assessed in the AI era, saying traditional distinctions between “mature” and “emerging” markets may not fully apply in the AI era. For example, developed markets such as Singapore and Australia may move faster on enterprise integration and scaled deployment,but others could leapfrog through mobile-first behaviours and fewer legacy systems to unwind. Instead, she said the real differentiators are readiness, ambition, and speed of adoption: 

The real lens is less about maturity and more about readiness, ambition, and how quickly people and organisations can turn AI into value.

Beyond visibility, Lien added that the focus will be on translating awareness into sustained usage and business outcomes. Success in the region will be measured across growth, engagement, trust, and tangible market impact, including deeper product usage and stronger enterprise adoption. “Strong metrics matter, but building durable relevance matters even more,” she said.

When asked what drew her to the role at OpenAI, Lien said it was the company's mission and scale. “I’m deliberate about where I choose to spend my time, it has to matter,” she explained, adding that the company is shaping one of the most important technological shifts of this generation, with a mission focused on broad human benefit.

She noted that the opportunity to help businesses, communities, and everyday users across APAC participate in that future was a key motivator.

Lien joins OpenAI from Figma, where she served as director of marketing for JAPAC between 2023 and 2025. Prior to that, she held multiple senior marketing roles at Facebook, including head of enterprise marketing, APAC, and head of consumer marketing, APAC, where she led regional brand strategy and execution.

Her earlier experience includes leadership roles in platform marketing at Facebook, as well as stints at Appier, LinkedIn, Google, and YouTube. Lien said she is most looking forward to building teams, learning from users on the ground, and shaping how AI creates value across APAC, adding that few opportunities come with this level of scale, urgency, and potential.

The appointment also comes amid broader regional expansion efforts. In December last year, OpenAI officially opened its first Australian office with a closed-door launch event in Sydney attended by senior business, tech and government leaders.

Meanwhile, it appointed Grace Chua as its head of communications for Singapore and Southeast Asia in May 2025. 

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