Snap hires Google ad executive to help improve ad performance

By Sheila Dang

(Reuters) – Snap Inc, owner of photo messaging app Snapchat, said on Wednesday it has hired a former Google executive to help the tech company improve the performance of its digital ads.

Darshan Kantak, who previously led product management for search ads at Alphabet Inc’s Google, joins Snap as senior vice president of revenue product. Before Google, Kantak worked at Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc and Microsoft Corp.

Snap is rebuilding its ad sales team after two key leaders left for Netflix Inc last year. Last month, Snap hired Rob Wilk, a longtime Microsoft ad executive, to lead ad sales in the Americas region.

The Santa Monica, California-based company also aims to improve how Snapchat ads can lead to product sales at a time when some advertisers are cutting their marketing budget amid high inflation and concerns about the economy.

Snap said in January that first-quarter revenue could decline as much as 10% due to weaker advertising demand.

Kantak will lead the teams that develop ad formats and also focus on improving how to measure and optimize the effectiveness of Snapchat ads, the company said.

Like other digital ad platforms, Snap has been hurt by privacy changes that Apple rolled out on iPhones in 2021, which made it more difficult for apps to measure how their ads can lead to website visits or sales.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Richard Chang)