CtrlShift names new CEO, CFO & Malaysia Country Head
CtrlShift, a data-driven audience-focused marketing solutions company, has appointed three new appointments to its management team. Deepika Nikhilender, who joined CtrlShift earlier this year as Managing Director, has been named its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) by the CtrlShift board. Shelly Maneth joins as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Serm Teck Choon, currently Head of Product, has been given the additional responsibility of Country Head of Malaysia. Former CEO and Co-founder Rene E. Menezes will join fellow Co-founders Pete Yoong and Reza Behnam on the CtrlShift Holdings Board of Directors. The significant addition to senior leadership talent sets the stage for aggressive growth in the region.
Ms Menezes said, “Reza, Pete and I have been on the search for a candidate who can helm the company and accelerate our growth. Deepika’s vast knowledge of the media industry and strong leadership skills make her an ideal leader for our company. We are excited about her promotion to CEO after only three months of tenure with the company. Deepika, Serm, and Shelly join a talented, 150- person strong team. CtrlShift is set to deliver outstanding products and results for our clients and beat industry growth numbers.”
“The company is at a high-growth stage, constantly innovating to build capabilities as the audience solutions company. I am thrilled to lead this change and to work with a great team to shape the path for the company. Our vision is for CtrlShift to be the primary partner for businesses looking to target, engage and grow customers through data-driven communication. We also want to be a voice for the industry to transform the way programmatic is viewed and used,” said Ms Nikhilender.
As CEO, Mr Nikhilender is responsible for managing and growing CtrlShift in APAC and beyond, while maintaining the company’s agnostic technology offerings, “start-up” mentality and focus on results.
Ms Maneth brings more than 20 years of experience in financial management and consultancy to CtrlShift. She was previously CFO of ConneXionsAsia, a Singapore-headquartered online health and wellness marketplace, and earlier, APAC Director of Finance at A.T. Kearney, and Oliver Wyman, leading global management consulting firms. She moved to Asia in 1995 with Deloitte and is a US qualified CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner).
Mr Choon, currently leading product innovation and product management, will be assuming additional responsibilities as the Country Head of Malaysia. In March this year, he was also named President of the Malaysian Digital Association, a council that represents the digital publishing and advertising industry in Malaysia. Before joining CtrlShift, Serm led digital product development and management for Star Media Group Berhad, Malaysia’s leading integrated and innovative media group.
The new team will lead CtrlShift during a time when Southeast Asia’s digital advertising market, together with programmatic, are primed for huge growth. The number of internet users in Southeast Asia is expected to increase to 480 million users by 2020, close to an 85 per cent increase compared to 260 million users in 2015 (Google). With a larger online population, the size of Southeast Asia’s online advertising market is expected to increase almost five-fold to USD 9.9 billion by 2025, up from USD 2.1 billion in 2015 (Google).
CtrlShift develops advertising technology and provides data-science and media-trading services to clients and publishers in the region. CtrlShift has a strong focus in innovation and research.
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