India: Snap has hired its first employee in India as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to the region. Durgesh Kaushik will lead local market development activities including strategic partnerships, community development and overall ecosystem initiatives that support growth. Durgesh will initially split time between Mumbai and Bengaluru. Prior to joining Snap, Durgesh worked in leadership roles at several Indian startups, most recently as CEO and co-founder of Wishfie. He also spent over three years at Facebook in marketing roles in APAC and EMEA, and worked at Jio selected through their young leadership program.
Nana Murugesan, Managing Director of International Markets said: “We are delighted to welcome Durgesh on board as our Employee #1 based in market at such an exciting time for our business in India. We are encouraged by the product-market fit, strong momentum in recent months and the announcement this week that we have completed 100% roll out of our new app for Android will be an important lever for accelerating user growth in a market where it powers more than 90% of smartphones.”
Durgesh Kaushik, Head of India Market Development said: “I see an enormous opportunity for Snapchat in India where people are embracing the opportunity to communicate quickly and easily with the people that matter to them without the pressure of likes and followers. Snapchat is already seeing solid growth locally and I’m excited to scale this over 2019 and beyond. A priority for me will be to continue the great work to date in developing and supporting local partnerships by extending their breadth and scope.”