Nitin Gajria named Google MD for Southeast Asia, South Asia frontier markets

MUMBAI: Google has expanded Nitin Gajria’s regional remit, appointing him managing director for Southeast Asia and South Asia frontier markets.

Gajria announced the move in a LinkedIn post, describing it as the next chapter of his 12-year-plus journey with Google. He will be based in Singapore.

The appointment comes after Gajria spent the past three years as managing director of partnerships for Asia Pacific, where he worked on scaling Google’s publisher and creator monetisation business across the region.

Gajria began his Google career in Southeast Asia more than 12 years ago and has since held leadership roles across multiple international markets.

Before taking on his latest role, he served as managing director for partnerships, Asia Pacific from July 2023. Earlier, he was managing director for Sub-Saharan Africa between 2019 and 2023 and country director for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos from 2016 to 2019.

He also previously served as head of brand solutions for India and Southeast Asia, where he worked with clients, agencies, sales teams and product teams to develop solutions across YouTube, Google Display Network and content strategy.

Gajria said his return to Southeast Asia comes as the region’s digital ecosystem has evolved significantly since his first stint there.

Artificial intelligence is set to be an important part of Gajria’s new regional mandate.

In his LinkedIn announcement, he highlighted growing consumer interest in AI across the region, noting that regional consumer AI interest is running at three times the global average.

His new remit covers Southeast Asia as well as South Asian frontier markets, putting him at the intersection of rapidly expanding digital economies and growing adoption of AI-powered products and services.

Gajria said he intends to work closely with Google employees, partners, developers and creators across the region as he takes on the new responsibility.

Gajria joined Google in 2014 after more than a decade with Procter & Gamble.

At P&G, he held several brand management and business leadership roles across Southeast Asia, Australasia and India, working on brands including Olay, Ariel, Pantene, Head & Shoulders and Safeguard.

He later joined Mead Johnson Nutrition as regional marketing director for Enfa A+ in Asia Pacific, where he was responsible for business growth, innovation, media, digital and CRM capabilities.

Gajria also has experience as an investor and entrepreneur. He has been a co-founder and investor at Singapore-based A54 since January 2026 and an investor with XA Network Southeast Asia since 2021.

He holds an MBA in business management from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and completed INSEAD’s Aspiring Directors Program in March 2026.

With his new appointment, Gajria returns to the region where his Google journey began, taking charge of markets where AI adoption, creator ecosystems and digital transformation are becoming increasingly important to the technology giant’s regional strategy.