Mel Silva promoted as new Google ANZ managing director
Google has announced the appointment of Mel Silva as the new managing director for the company's Australia and New Zealand operations.
Having been with Google for over 11 years, Silva has held a number of senior leadership positions in Australia and the greater Asia-Pacific region, most recently based in Singapore as managing director of Go-to-Market Strategy & Operations for Google APAC.
"I am thrilled to be coming home and rejoining the Google Australia and New Zealand team. There is a tremendous digital opportunity for the region, with businesses and consumers increasingly making use of tools such as AI and machine learning," Silva said in a statement Thursday.
"During my time in APAC, it's been wonderful to see and share stories of the innovations coming out of Australia and New Zealand, and I can't wait to come back and work with our partners and clients to help them innovate, grow, and succeed."
Prior to Google, Silva held a handful of product and marketing roles in financial services at companies such as Citibank, ING Direct, and AMP.
Silva will commence in her new role on October 1, 2018, replacing former local MD Jason Pellegrino, who announced he was leaving Google in July.
Pellegrino took on the leadership mantle at Google in May 2016, when he too was promoted from his role as Asia-Pacific sales operations and strategy.
At the start of the year, Google Australia's long-serving director of engineering Alan Noble stepped down to focus on his non-profit project, with his duties picked up by Anil Sabharwal.
For its 2017 financial year, Google reported AU$125 million in after-tax profit from revenue of AU$1.02 billion, which comprised AU$604 million from advertising, AU$266 million from research and development (R&D) services, and AU$136 million from hardware.
Locally, Google said it employs 1,282 staff members, on which it spent AU$298 million in wages. It also paid AU$231.8 million in income tax.
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