The expansion is claimed to capitalise on what CNN sees as its leadership position in the digital space and will see Menglye Liu joins from Mashable to be CNN’s digital director for South East Asia based in Singapore, and Noriyuki Imai come onboard from MediaMath to be digital director for Japan based in Tokyo.

The executives will be tasked with growing CNN’s existing commercial partnerships in the region and creating new relationships with digital-first brands. As well as direct contact with brands and agencies, they will also work with CNNIC’s advertising sales team to take a range of CNN propositions to the APAC market. This includes building brand partnerships around properties such as the recently launched CNN Business and video network Great Big Story, as well as advising clients on how to utilise distribution and data solutions such as CNN Reach and CNN AIM.

Menglye and Noriyuki will both report into Brandon Keenen, senior digital commercial director, CNNIC, and will work in close collaboration with Sunita Rajan, senior vice president, APAC, for CNNIC, and her sales teams.

“We are seeing significant appetite for digital right across APAC – either in digital-first campaigns or as part of a multi-platform mix, where 70% of our campaigns combine CNN’s TV, online and mobile platforms for maximum impact,” Rajan remarked. “To supercharge this growth and provide clients with greater consultancy and specialist know-how, we are delighted to welcome Menglye and Noriyuki’s expertise and vast experience. Their hires will augment what we’ve already been doing in this space and capitalise on CNN’s leadership in digital and commercial innovation.”