Outbrain promotes Anthony Hearne and Gulshan Verma

The content platform hopes that the new appointments will help its march into Asian markets in 2015.

Outbrain, a content discovery platform, has promoted Gulshan Verma as general manager, SEA & India and Anthony Hearne as regional director, SEA, India and New Markets. Verma was appointed in 2014 as country manager, Outbrain India, while Hearne was roped in as regional director, SEA and India in August 2012.

The appointments have been made in order to drive Outbrain's expansion into other Asian markets in 2015. Eytan Galai, managing director, APAC & EEMEA, Outbrain says, "Asia represents a significant growth opportunity for Outbrain, which is why we continue to invest in our business here. Our established publisher network and technological investment, in the form of Amplify API, have set the infrastructure in place. Now, we're adding the digital experience and the galvanizing leadership of Anthony and Gulshan to drive our next phase of growth."

Hearne has spent the past 20 years serving in various marketing functions across agency, client and publisher businesses. His most recent role before Outbrain was marketing director of NewsCorp's paid content strategy in Australia. Prior to NewsCorp, Hearne spent seven years at SingTel Optus, which included marketing for Optus' consumer division and a stint as marketing director, Virgin Mobile.

Says Hearne, "Outbrain works with most of the region's leading brands and premium publishers powering content discovery in one open, global marketplace. In 2015, we expect content marketing to continue its growth momentum, hence our further investment in the region."

Verma brings to Outbrain over 15 years of experience in the digital media industry, having worked in Europe, North America and Asia. Previously the country manager of Outbrain India, he was responsible for leading the setup and growth of Outbrain in the country. Before Outbrain, he was with Komli Media as chief revenue officer. His past experience also includes roles as director at Yahoo! in US and India, and as a consultant with McKinsey & Co in their Los Angeles office.

Says Verma, "The launch of Amplify API reaffirms our commitment to continuous innovation and enhancing the reach and scale of content marketing. It will also take us closer to our goal - the creation of an open and transparent content marketplace that can be accessed by all regional brands and agencies. Having said that, we are only at the start of our content marketing journey in Asia, so there's still much to do and look forward to." Outbrain Amplify API enables marketers and their agencies to programmatically manage and measure content marketing campaigns on the Outbrain platform.

It also enables marketers to seamlessly integrate their content and campaigns directly into Outbrain's network of leading media properties, reaching a worldwide audience of more than 550 million users.