SINGAPORE, Sept. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- New AI-powered eCommerce solution provider, Graas, today announced the appointment of five senior key hires in the region as part of Graas' strategy of accelerated growth in Southeast Asia and India. Combined, the appointment of these senior industry veterans brings decades of regional experience into Graas. This comes closely after the first close of Graas' Series A, raising over US$40M to launch the category- defining technology solution "Growth-as-a-Service".
With eCommerce growing at an exponential rate in the region, Graas has appointed veterans in this space to helm its growth, including Nathalie Pellegrini, Chief Growth Officer - who will be primarily responsible for developing new relationships with brands and agency partners, optimising business models and processes. Her previous role was Chief Performance Officer at Mindshare Asia Pacific, and has had stints at iFlix and Blis Global before that.
Other key hires include Ujjwal Sarao as Chief People Officer. In this role, Sarao will oversee Global People Strategy and key talent management solutions; Graas currently has over 350 employees across 7 countries. Her past HR leadership roles include companies like Aegis Media, Dentsu and Publicis.
Trisnia Anchali Kardia has joined as VP, Head of Business for Graas in Indonesia. She was previously the Chief Commercial Officer of LINE Indonesia, and prior to that had stints at Zomato Indonesia, and Telkomsel Digital Advertising. With her extensive experience in the media and the digital industry in Indonesia, Kardia will focus on growing the business in one of Graas' key markets.
Rika Ninomiya, who was Chief Business Officer at SELLinALL (now acquired by Graas) has been appointed as EVP Product Marketing. Ninomiya will be responsible for product-market fit for Graas' predictive engine and continue to deal with key strategic initiatives across Asia.
Lastly, Sathya Ramaganapathy has been appointed as EVP Marketing. She was previously VP Marketing at Shoptimize (now acquired by Graas). A veteran in B2B Product Marketing and SaaS Product Management, Ramaganapathy will spearhead Graas' brand as well as global marketing and communications strategy.
"eCommerce as a percentage of overall retail continues to grow and India and SE Asia lead the way globally. Graas stands for Growth-as-Service, and we act as in-house data scientists, something previously inaccessible to most. With the addition of experienced veterans to our team, we are doubling down on our commitment to brands both big and small across the region" said Prem Bhatia, Co-Founder & CEO of Graas.
Following closely after Graas' fundraise and acquisitions, Graas continues to accelerate its growth through a fast go-to-market strategy in the region.
About Graas
Founded in 2022, Graas is a "Growth-as-a-Service" technology solution provider using predictive AI to turbo-charge growth for eCommerce businesses. Graas integrates traditional data silos and applies a machine-learning AI engine, acting as an in-house data scientist to predict trends and give real-time insights and actionable recommendations for brands.
The platform can also turn insights into action by seamlessly executing these recommendations across marketplace store fronts, brand.coms, social and conversational commerce, performance marketing, inventory management, warehousing and last mile logistics - all of which impacts a brand's bottom line profitability.
Graas is co-founded by serial entrepreneurs and martech veterans, Ashwin Puri and Prem Bhatia. Graas is backed by several high profile investors, including Galaxy (Kejora-led SPV), Performa (multi- billion European Asset Manager-led SPV), Integra Partners, Yuj Ventures (Xander Group), AJ Capital and angel investors from across SEA and India. Graas operates under the holding company Solv Pte Ltd and was established following the full acquisition of Southeast Asia's marketplace specialist, SELLinALL and India's D2C and data specialist, Shoptimize Inc in 2022. For more information please visit: www.graas.ai
Media contact
Mediarelations@graas.ai
Appendix - Bios
From left to right, Nathalie Pellegrini, Ujjwal Sarao, Trisnia Anchali Kardia, Rika Ninomiya, Sathya Ramaganapathy
Nathalie Pellegrini, Chief Growth Officer
Nathalie is a performance marketing professional with over 16 years of experience in the ad and martech industries. Her previous role was Chief Performance Officer at Mindshare Asia Pacific, where she oversaw all digital, performance marketing, e-commerce and data driven audience strategies. In addition to this, she was responsible for leading a number of top strategic regional clients. Prior to Mindshare, she led iflix's global digital efforts to maximise new customer acquisitions and go to market strategies across 30 countries.
Ujjwal Sarao, Chief People Officer
With over 20 years of experience in people management, Ujjwal brings a strategic focus on being an in-house strategic business partner working with leadership roles across Asia Pacific focussing on team & organisational effectiveness, executing and scaling strategy, service delivery and measurement. Her experience has largely focused on building capability to support & deliver a transformation agenda. Her past HR leadership roles have covered companies such as Aegis Media, Dentsu and Publicis.
Trisnia Anchali Kardia, VP, Head of Business Indonesia
As the Head of Business Indonesia, Anchali will be looking to leverage her 16 years of experience within both the media and the digital industry to help accelerate Graas' growth in Indonesia. Her experience has largely been focused on sales, marketing, business development, and strategy. Prior to her current role, she was the Chief Commercial Officer of LINE Indonesia, where she headed business, product, marketing, operation, and monetization for B2B and B2C. Her other stints include head of sales at Zomato Indonesia, part of the pioneer team in Telkomsel Digital Advertising, and head of sales at Living Social.
Rika Ninomiya, EVP Product Marketing
Rika has over 10 years of experience in the eCommerce tech space, ranging from roles in advertising, digital marketing, client management, partnerships and acquisitions. Prior to her role at Graas, Rika was Chief of Business at SELLinALL (now a Graas company), scaling the eCommerce enabler from USD 100 to USD 100,000 GMV a day. Outside of her corporate role, Rika also founded a Lifestyle Discovery Platform that includes a Loyalty Programme in Australia.
Sathya Ramaganapathy, EVP Marketing
Sathya brings over 20 years of experience in marketing, with leadership roles in the B2B Product Marketing, Sales and Account Management, SaaS Product Management, and Delivery. Her previous role was VP Marketing at Shoptimize (now a Graas company), and prior to that she was VP and Head of Corporate Business at Jigsaw Academy (a Manipal Group company). In addition to her corporate role, she is a published author and blogger.
