Paktor names Alex Tam new CEO following Shn Juay's exit

Dating company Paktor Group has named Alex Tam (pictured centre), co-founder and current CEO its offline dating arm GaiGai, to succeed Shn Juay (pictured left) in her role as CEO of Paktor. This comes as Juay serves her last day today. In an LinkedIn post by Juay, she said it was a "difficult decision" and expressed gratitude to the founders of the company for their mentorship and for being supportive of mothers-at-work.

Juay joined Paktor Group in 2014 as its regional marketing director. She subsequently rose through the ranks, taking on roles such as head of operations, chief operating officer, and eventually CEO in 2019. In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Juay applauded the founders of the company for believing from promoting from within, and giving staff opportunities to grow in the company.

Commenting on his new role as CEO, Tam told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that through existing and upcoming brands, he hopes to continue building a trusted dating platform for people to connect, form new relationships, as well as to enhance meaningful connections. He also said that marketing will continue to be its key approach to inform and connect with its target audiences. "Our marketing focus is to communicate in new and refreshing ways that are relatable to modern day singles across different channels while building trust and credibility for our brands," Tam added. 

Separately, Paktor has also hired Meichin Tan (pictured right) as its new regional PR and marketing manager. Reporting to Tam, Tan will oversee Paktor's marketing team across the region and accelerate brand outreach for its dating products.

Prior to joining Paktor, Tan worked at ONE Championship as its regional B2B marketing manager. According to Tam, she has years of marketing experience across different industries and the company believes her tenacity to overcome challenges and vibrant personality will propel its marketing efforts to new heights. Tan's appointment also comes two months following the exit of its previous regional marketing and PR lead June Lim, who took on a new role at technology company REVEZ as its marketing and PR lead. 

Paktor, which was previously under entertainment group M17 Entertainment, was acquired by investment firm Kollective Ventures earlier in May. With Kollective Ventures, a spokesperson from Paktor told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that it will be well-positioned to focus on high growth areas such as video and voice dating in Asia and to gain more autonomy on resources utilisation. 

Shang Koo, CFO of M17, said previously: "As our Japan livestreaming business has skyrocketed, we found we were unable to devote the same level of internal resources to our dating business in SEA. Becoming independent will allow Paktor to control its own destiny as M17 focuses heavily on the future of its streaming services in our largest market, Japan." Foo added that M17 hopes to continue working with Paktor on future business cooperation and will always value the synergy and teamwork between the two companies.

If you are looking to learn more about Marketing to Millennials and Gen Z, join our masterclass where we deep dive in creating frameworks for marketing success with the next generation. Find out more here.

Related articles:
Muslim matchmaking platform Hawaya swipes right on Zeno Group for PR duties
Swipe Play Love: Dating apps adapt and engage to combat isolation
When love and money mix: A look at dating apps winning in monetisation in SEA