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AnnouncementsPDGSingapore-based Princeton Digital Group (PDG) has closed an equity investment from Mubadala Investment Company as a lead investor for $350 million. Both existing shareholders in PDG, Warburg Pincus and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, also invested in this round, with the total exceeding half a billion dollars.

Established in 2017, PDG is a leading Pan-Asia data center operator with an unrivalled footprint across key Asian digital economies. PDG has a portfolio of 20 data centers with over 600MW of secured capacity and spanning five countries. The company serves hyperscalers, internet and cloud companies, and financial institutions with scalable and reliable internet infrastructure and world-class data center services to meet their increasing demand across Asia.

The funds will enable PDG to consolidate its position as the leading Pan-Asia data center operator, by deepening its presence in Japan, India, Singapore, China, and Indonesia and accelerating its expansion plans into other markets. Asia is one of the fastest growing data center regions in the world, driven by strong market fundamentals such as a large base of internet users, the growth of digitalization, high levels of data usage and an increasing tech-savvy young population.


AppointmentsYahooYahoo has promoted Paul Sigaloff as Vice President, Head of APAC.

Effective immediately, Sigaloff will lead sales for the ad technology business across the entire Asia Pacific region. Previously VP of ANZ INSEA, his expanded remit now includes Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia.

Sigaloff has been with the company for eight years and launched Yahoo (formerly Verizon Media) into the Australia and New Zealand market in 2018. In April 2021, he was promoted to Vice President of ANZ INSEA, expanding his role from Managing Director ANZ to include India and Southeast Asia.

Sigaloff is a board member of industry social purpose organization UnLtd, and a board member and mentor of the IAB. He will remain based in Sydney, Australia.


AnnouncementsDataAIApp Annie is now data.ai.

The new name reflects the company’s vision to drive comprehensive digital performance with products and partnerships, besides combining consumer and market data to fuel digital insights by applying the power of artificial intelligence (Unified Data AI).

The digital ecosystem is fragmented and relies too much on in-house teams and manual processes, creating significant distraction from the core business. Digital performance benefits from a single point of control that unifies disparate datasets illuminating mission critical metrics like customer acquisition cost, lifetime value and ROI.

data.ai takes complexity out of the equation by providing you and your teams a unified view across all channels – mobile, web, OTT and gaming. The unification of consumer and market data offers data science driven opportunities to prescribe optimal digital performance decisions.


AnnouncementsBinanceBinance, the world's leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a strategic partnership with Netmarble F&C, a subsidiary of Netmarble Corp., to build a global Play to Earn (P2E) Ecosystem and NFT offering.

Through the strategic partnership, the two teams will develop and contribute to the infrastructure of Binance Smart Chain (BSC) through BSC Application Side Chain (BAS). There will be a private chain for Netmarble to develop on the BSC GameFi sidechain and Netmarble will build GameFi projects that can grow the BSC GameFi ecosystem and the global P2E ecosystem.

On top of the technological collaboration, Binance and Netmarble are discussing opportunities to launch an Initial Game Offering (IGO) on Binance NFT marketplace, conduct sales of Netmarble game NFT on Binance NFT marketplace, plug Netmarble into Binance's crypto ecosystem to support the development of crypto use cases in their future games, and more. Furthermore, there are more long-term goals for the two parties to come, with details to be shared in due course.


AppointmentsDamstraDamstra Technology, the Australian-based global leader of integrated workplace management SaaS solutions, announced the strategic appointment of industry finance leader Andrew Ford as the company's Chief Financial Officer.

Andrew brings extensive experience in finance, operations, accounting, treasury, tax, risk management, investor relations, M&A transactions, and strategy development in medium to large organisations ($200m - $2b+).

Based in Melbourne, his background includes working in the manufacturing, industrial, and retail sectors for companies with operations in Australia, NZ, US, Europe, and Asia with strong alignment with Damstra's current industries and market areas.

Most recently, Andrew was Finance Director at InfraBuild, a steel and wire manufacturer and distributor based in Melbourne. Prior to that, he was CFO for Godfrey's, an ASX-listed retailer with several hundred stores in ANZ. He has also held senior financial leadership positions for numerous ASX-listed corporations throughout Australia.

Andrew brings a wealth of financial expertise to Damstra including corporate organic growth / CAPEX, accretive acquisitions, non-core divestments, takeovers/mergers, and change programs. He has extensive experience leading transactions including acquisitions, divestments, due diligence, deal structuring, debt financing, sale and purchase agreements, preparation and verification of scheme books, and more.


AppointmentsPreqinPreqin, the global leader in alternative assets data, tools, and insights, has appointed data management veteran, Geetanjali Bhalotia, as its Head of Research in Asia-Pacific (APAC).

This fits into the firm's ambitious goals to deepen its data coverage in APAC and further cement its relationships within the alternative assets industry.

As the interest in alternative investments in the APAC region is surging, Preqin continues to build out its research, data, and insights capabilities to best serve over 170,000+ professionals globally.

With over 15 years of experience in banking and financial services, Geetanjali started her career at JP Morgan, before moving to Credit Risk Management at Deutsche Bank. Most recently, she was Bloomberg's Head of Data Management for South-East Asia and Australia, managing multiple asset classes including equities, loans, and commodities.

Geetanjali holds an MBA from the Management Development Institute and is a Bachelor of Commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University.

Preqin has currently more than 1,000 staff across 15 offices globally and is going through a strong growth phase. With the acquisition of Colmore, a leading private markets technology, services, and administration business, in August 2021, Preqin is serving its customers through the entire private market investment lifecycle – from fundraising and investor relations to deal origination, due diligence and portfolio monitoring.


AppointmentsAVIAThe Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) has appointed Matthew Cheetham as General Manager of the Coalition Against Piracy (CAP).

Cheetham is a qualified lawyer specializing in intellectual property, more specifically copyright protection, with over 20 years’ experience working in Asia Pacific (APAC) for some of the largest content producers in the world.

Prior to taking up his role at CAP, Cheetham was the Premier League’s Head of Business Affairs, Asia Pacific. In this role, Cheetham opened and headed up the Premier League’s APAC office in Singapore, the Premier League’s first office outside the UK, and oversaw all enforcement, policy and outreach efforts for the Premier League in APAC.

Prior to working for the Premier League, Cheetham spent ten years as the Motion Picture Association’s (MPA) Regional Legal Counsel and Assistant Policy Officer for APAC following which he was the Managing Director of the MPA’s New Zealand office, the New Zealand Screen Association (NZSA) that oversaw all enforcement, policy and outreach efforts for MPA member companies in New Zealand.

As the General Manager of CAP, Cheetham will take over from Aaron Herps and build on the accomplishments achieved by CAP to date, with the aim of creating a stronger and healthier environment in which the video industry can prosper.


AnnouncementsTataEclatTata Communications, a global digital ecosystem enabler, and Eclat Media Group, a premier broadcaster of global sports content, announced the expansion of Eclat's sports content broadcasting to viewers across Asian countries, including Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

Eclat Media Group has recently launched two new channels – SPOTV and SPOTV2 – that broadcast content such as tennis Grand Slam tournaments Wimbledon and US Open, motorsport championships MotoGP and WorldSBK, World Table Tennis and Badminton World Federation events, as well as popular Asian sports including the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) League, Korean Basketball League (KBL), V-League (volleyball) and V.League (Japan) competition.

This new agreement powers Eclat Media Group's newly launched channels, SPOTV and SPOTV2 to broadcast 4000+ hours of content annually.

Tata Communications Media Ecosystem, coupled with Video Connect and Satellite Uplink services, will allow commentators of SPOTV and SPOTV2 to overlay commentary in their local language, which is added to the viewers' video feeds for relevant regions. Fans across Asia will now be able to watch their favourite global sports in their preferred language commentary, thereby expanding the reach of content to millions of new potential viewers.


AppointmentsPaesslerPaessler, the monitoring experts, announced the appointment of Joachim Weber as their Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

Since 1997, Paessler has provided networking solutions to customers in all corners of the world. Now, with more than 500,000 active users, Paessler is supporting enterprises across all sectors to monitor, streamline and run their IT, OT and IoT infrastructures. As CTO, Weber will lead Paessler’s growing development team, oversee continued enhancements to the product portfolio and lead the charge in introducing new features, functionality, and offerings to customers.

Weber brings with him more than three decades of industry experience, holding various senior EMEA roles to date and joins the business to support its continued growth and innovation trajectory.

Prior to joining Paessler, Weber spent the last 20 years at Trend Micro and EMC Corporation, where he held a variety of global and EMEA leadership positions, including VP of Technical Solutions, Director of Global Services and Global Technical Council Leader. While at Trend Micro, Weber was responsible for all technical areas such as presales, post-sales, consulting, training, technical support, and product management. And, at EMC Corporation, Weber focused on virtual data center practices and global services across channels and markets.

Paessler is a global brand and has set a high standard in IT monitoring with the PRTG product family. As CTO, Weber is aiming to expand this claim to leadership and extend it to other areas such as industry, healthcare and IoT. Usability and customer benefit will always be at the center of Paessler’s development.


AppointmentsNTTSingaporeNick Teo has been appointed General Manager at NTT Singapore.

Nick is a veteran sales leader with vast experience in leading, managing and driving sales teams across the ASEAN region. He comes with more than 26 years of experience in sales and has transversed different layers of the IT ecosystem, from telco to infrastructure to applications and analytics in the market. This is evident in his multiple strategic roles in Verizon Business, Datacraft/Dimension Data, Teradata, Hitachi and other organizations.

His most recent appointment as the Managing Director, ASEAN, for TigerGraph had him being responsible for country business in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam. He has successfully developed business and execution plans to penetrate ASEAN markets, building four times the pipeline over the last six months and closing several strategic accounts.

Some of his significant accomplishments include the overachievement of sales targets, winning strategic deals in key sectors like Financial Services, Public Sector and Healthcare across ASEAN and clinching the SAP General Business Partner of the Year. He will be playing a prominent role in providing strategic leadership to the Sales teams in Singapore to execute and achieve the ambitious goals of NTT and uphold our service excellence.


AnnouncementsREVEZLeading B2B technology group, REVEZ Corporation Ltd (REVEZ) has launched Singapore's first-ever Codeless Web-based Augmented Reality (WebAR) asset Content Management System (CMS), PLONK which allows everyone to create WebAR assets with no coding knowledge required.

Users can easily create, publish, track, and analyze their 3D AR-powered digital campaigns in just a few simple steps. PLONK transforms the way customers experience a brand and can support any product catalogue or geographic reach.

This is yet another Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) offering from REVEZ and the third recurring business model that was rolled out during the COVID-19 period, in addition to Cybersecurity offerings and Digital Media offerings, in achieving long-term business sustainability.

As the ongoing pandemic continues to rage around the world, companies have relied on cloud-based, on-demand platforms to provide scalable solutions "as-a-service". Eyeing this demand surge, REVEZ deployed cutting-edge technology to enable PLONK users to access WebAR technology with little upfront investment in tools, equipment, or specialized people. PLONK® equips developers, brands, and agencies with powerful tools to create extraordinary WebAR experiences.

REVEZ is known for its industry-leading innovations and projects in the immersive multimedia space. Awarded as "Singapore's Largest Provider of Customised Multimedia Solutions for Museums and Galleries" by Singapore Book of Records in 2018, REVEZ is the creator of many engaging and technologically advanced projects, including the Coast-to-Coast (C2C) mobile app, National Parks Board's first augmented reality (AR)-enabled mobile application and has also won the 5G-enabled virtual platform for Novel and Immersive Tourism, Heritage and Cultural Experience for National Heritage Board, under the Open Innovation Platform National Innovation challenge 2020, organized by Infocomm Media Development Authority. With the accelerated demand in digital innovations, REVEZ continues to grow innovative platforms and turnkey solutions for enterprises to excel in the digital age.


AnnouncementsLEAP22Saudi Arabia announced at LEAP22, the new international technology platform taking place in Riyadh, to make investments of more than US$6.4 billion in future technologies and entrepreneurship that will further secure the Kingdom's position as the MENA region's largest digital economy.

The investments and initiatives include the launch of Aramco Venture's Prosperity fund with US$1 billion, and a billion dollar investment from NEOM Tech & Digital Company with a focus on future technologies. As part of its investment, NEOM announced the launch of the world's first cognitive metaverse, XVRS that will serve residents and visitors of the smart giga-project, and M3LD, a personal data management platform that gives back control of data to the user.

stc announced MENA HUB, a US$1 billion investment in regional connectivity and infrastructure, which will support Saudi Arabia's rapidly expanding digital and cloud sector. LEAP also saw the launch of The Garage, a new platform for start-ups, investment and entrepreneurship by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST).

J&T Express Group, one of the world's fastest-growing logistics companies, announced an investment of US$2 billion with eWTP Arabia Capital and other partners, to establish its MENA headquarters in Riyadh, and set up an extensive network of smart logistics in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia's technology sector is worth more than US$40 billion. The new investments announced at LEAP22 are part of the Kingdom's ongoing plans to transform into an innovation-based economy, which have already seen the country become one of the fastest-growing new markets for Fintech and digital content in the region.

LEAP is set to become the world's largest debut technology platform. It will spotlight the entire innovation ecosystem, connecting pioneers and disruptors with business and government leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and more to experience and learn about the technologies of the future.


AppointmentsMicrolandMicroland, India's leading digital IT transformation company announced that Navneet Khandelwal will be joining the Bangalore-HQ'd company as Chief Financial Officer.

Navneet will assume the CFO role from S Raja Gopalan who announced his retirement after serving 21 years with the company. He will report to Microland Chairman & Managing Director Pradeep Kar and will oversee Microland's overall Finance Function, Investor relations, Legal & Compliance, General Administration Services, Procurement and Risk & Compliance functions of the company.

Navneet joins Microland from Zensar Technologies, a listed IT services company where he was the CFO of the company for 4 years. He has extensive expertise in global strategy, financial planning and operations, and mergers and acquisitions, and two decades of experience in the IT industry.

Prior to joining Zensar, Navneet was with Wipro for 17 years and his last assignment at Wipro was as the CFO for Wipro's Digital business. In addition, he was the Strategic Finance Partner heading the Business Finance function for the Manufacturing and Healthcare businesses.

Navneet holds a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce and is a certified Chartered Accountant.


AppointmentsAtlasCTH Group, a leading company in the blockchain and digital asset ecosystem, and its sister company, Atlas Technology Management Pte. Ltd (Atlas), one of the world's largest companies in application specific computing, announced the appointment of Maggie Sun as Chief Financial Officer for both entities.

In addition to the day-to-day management of Atlas's financial reporting and strategic direction, Sun will oversee the financial operations including strategy, performance reporting, capital markets activities and investor relations across the Group's venture capital firm Fundamental Labs and digital asset focused asset manager, IDEG.

Sun is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of global experience in finance operations and capital markets advisory spanning New York to Silicon Valley and Asia. Before joining CTH, she was a Partner in the Operating Group of SoftBank Investment Advisors ("Vision Fund"). Prior to that, she was a Partner at Ernst & Young and PwC.

Atlas saw unprecedented growth in 2021 and has aggressive hiring targets to achieve its expansion ambitions in 2022.


AppointmentsAdjustAdjust appointed veteran Simon "Bobby" Dussart as CEO of the mobile marketing analytics platform.

Adjust has grown its customer base by over 30% in the past year, positioning the company well for continued accelerated growth under Dussart’s leadership. Dussart joined Adjust in 2014 and has played an instrumental role in Adjust’s transition from being a standalone mobile measurement partner (MMP) to the platform that powers marketers’ decision-making.

Dussart has held several roles during his 8-year tenure at Adjust, including serving as the Head of Solutions and Integrations and as Vice President of Support — all laser focused on supporting Adjust's customers and understanding the intricacies of Adjust's products to ensure they meet marketers' evolving needs. Prior to joining the company, he held positions in software development at LaCIME Research Lab and BonGo Innovations, among others. Dussart holds a Master of Science degree in electronic and communications from Technological University Dublin, as well as a master's in telecommunications and network engineering from IMT Nord Europe, one of the best-known public engineering schools in France.

Last year, Adjust was acquired by AppLovin, a leading marketing platform providing developers with a powerful, integrated set of solutions to grow their mobile apps.


AnnouncementsPepperstonePepperstone announced its new partnership with industry leading social charting platform TradingView.

This means that Pepperstone's customers around the world can gain access to TradingView's advanced charts and analysis, powerful trading tools and interact with the world's largest social network of traders.

TradingView's community and super-charting features, combined with Pepperstone's transparent pricing, fast execution, extensive product offering and award-winning client service, will see great opportunities for traders in the future.

Pepperstone's integration with TradingView has been powered by Spotware Trading Technology.