News

SpotX APAC MD and commercial director depart programmatic player

Matt Von der Muhll

Matt Von der Muhll

Selva

Sujen Selva

US-based ad tech firm SpotX is going through a leadership transition in Asia Pacific following the departure of the company’s regional managing director and commercial director.

Sydney-based MD Matt Von der Muhll has moved on after two years with the company, and Singapore-based commercial director Sujen Selva has left following a year and a half with the programmatic video platform.

Von der Muhll has moved to mobile startup Unlockd in Melbourne, and Selva is now with Dentsu Aegis Network as senior operations manager for agency trading desk Amnet, also based in Melbourne where he lived previously.

SpotX, which changed its name from SpotXchange to reflect a broadening of its offering beyond an ad exchange in September, set up a Singapore office, led by Selva, 10 months ago.

The departures, which happened some months ago, have meant that SpotX’s management team in Sydney have been supporting the Southeast Asian business, the company’s fastest-growing operation.

SpotXchange told Mumbrella that the departures are based on personal decisions, not about consolidation following a period of explosive growth. Layoffs at programmatic firms Turn and Pubmatic, revealed earlier this week, reflect companies that are not strong in video, as SpotX is, a company spokesperson suggested.

A new recruit for SpotX’s APAC operation is to be unveiled in the new year, the company has said.

SpotX’s APAC management team in Sydney includes Christopher Blok, regional director of demand, Daniel Rowlands, director of supply, Al Jensen, director of operations, and marketing director Mandy Davenport.

Blok told Mumbrella in an interview in August that Asia has been slow to embrace programmatic video compared to Australia, North America and Europe. Brands continue to depend heavily on ad networks and “blind buying”, he commented.

“Video advertisers are also forgoing the opportunity to target more effectively using the power of the data programmatic affords. Many Asian video buyers are missing out on ‘addressable’ media buys because of the market’s slowness to innovate,” he said in the interview.

In a press statement after the launch of the Singapore operation in February, von der Muhll said that by the end of 2015 he expected the Asian market to make up 30 per cent of APAC revenues, up from two per cent in two years.

As of August this year, SpotX had opened three new offices, reported global headcount was up by 28 per cent, and spend on mobile video had increased by 2,200 per cent year on year, with mobile in Asia accounting for 29 per cent of spend on its platform.

Robin Hicks

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