POPS Indonesia hires ex-HOOQ execs to lead ad solutions and OTT

Shortly after its entry into Indonesia, POPS Worldwide has brought on board Afla Zulfahmi (pictured left) as head of brand and ads solutions to monetise the region's operations. At the same time, it also appointed Deny Verianto (pictured right) head of OTT.

Prior to joining the digital entertainment firm, Zulfahmi was head of ad sales at HOOQ, which ceased operations in April this year. He was also the Southeast Asia market analyst at Google, and led growth and sales at Smaato and Mobilewalla. According to POPS Indonesia, Zulfahmi brings leadership and experience working with advertisers and agencies, having been involved in the digital media space.

"POPS has built a powerful video-on-demand streaming platform that is entering an exciting period of hypergrowth. The team’s expertise in OTT and content is unparalleled, and I look forward to accelerating its revenue in Indonesia," he said.

Meanwhile, Verianto spent 11 years working in the telco industry in roles ranging from engineer to consultant for products and solutions delivery. He worked at HOOQ from 2016 to May this year as regional partner and product manager, Indonesia, according to his LinkedIn. He also worked at XL Axiata and Progresif Cellular.

"There are three main ways to make a living in this business - be first, be smarter or cheat, and what I see from POPS Worldwide is a vision of being both first and smarter by combining multiple services into a single platform," Verianto added.

POPS Indonesia country manager, Zico Kemala Batin, said as the company enters the most difficult and challenging market in Southeast Asia, it needs to hire the best talent in the market. "Zulfahmi and Verianto's profiles speak for themselves. I believe with their contribution, POPS will have exponential growth and become the next big thing in Indonesia," he added.

Batin was appointed to the role recently and is responsible for spearheading the company's operational, strategic development and growth in the country. POPS Indonesia will echo a similar model of talent recruitment from its network in other countries across Southeast Asia, bringing its audience and brand partners content solutions and entertainment. POPS Indonesia’s video-on-demand streaming service, POPS App, will go live early 2021, offering a new interactive digital experience fueled by hyper-local entertainment and fresh POPS originals ranging from music, animation, live action and esports content. The company is present in Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore and is over 212 million subscribers.

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