Facebook opens advertising sales office in Singapore

Appoints Stephen Dolan Commercial Director, Singapore and Southeast Asia as company invests to support region's marketers.

Facebook on Tuesday announced the opening of its South-East Asia sales operations in Singapore, and the appointment of Stephen Dolan as Commercial Director, Singapore and South-East Asia. Based in Singapore, Dolan will build and lead a team that will provide direct, locally-based support and expertise for brands, agencies and companies to help them connect to and deepen relationships with their target audiences, according to a Facebook report.

Facebook’s investment in a sales office demonstrates its commitment to the region, where brands are beginning to realize the marketing opportunity Facebook provides. The company already works with major brands across Asia, and is building a local team to provide expertise and support to these brands in executing their marketing campaigns on Facebook.

“Millions of people in Singapore and South-East Asia use Facebook regularly to connect with the people, causes and brands they care about,” said Blake Chandlee, VP & Commercial Director, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Emerging Markets. “With its strong user growth and sophisticated digital marketing communities, we expect Singapore and South-East Asia to play a significant role in our global sales strategy.”

Stephen Dolan will lead the Facebook team in South-East Asia. Dolan joins Facebook from Microsoft , where he was responsible for driving advertising revenue for online products across Asia, and led their sales unit at a regional level. His career in advertising also includes experience at aQuantive, IBM and Doubleclick, where he cultivated and implemented successful business development and account management strategies.

“With more than 500 million people worldwide connecting and sharing with their friends, Facebook provides a powerful combination of reach and engagement for advertisers,” said Dolan. “By building our presence in the region, Facebook will be able to provide full support to advertisers here and help them create and execute campaigns that will have a meaningful impact on their businesses.”

Facebook’s sales team works with the world’s largest marketers and brands. More than 80 of the top 100 advertisers in the US advertise on Facebook. Currently, the sales team has offices in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Sweden. In Singapore, Facebook is investing in a team that will scale with the business and is already seeking to hire account executives and other operational positions.