iWorld
Aaron Herps appointed GM for AVIA’s Coalition Against Piracy
KOLKATA: The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) has appointed Aaron Herps as the general manager of its Coalition Against Piracy (CAP), following the departure of Neil Gane who moved on to take up a position with the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE).
Herps joined AVIA in 2019 as the operations manager for CAP, working alongside Gane on all CAP initiatives from government outreach to criminal investigations and associated enforcement actions against syndicates and streaming website operators in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
In his role as general manager of CAP, Herps will build on the strong legacy that he and Gane have built, maintaining the coalitions and alliances across the industry which have made CAP so effective and continuing to provide expert technical and forensic analysis of the shifting state of the piracy ecosystem to members and government officials, said the association on Monday.
“Aaron has been instrumental to the success of CAP over the last two years so it gives me great pleasure to see him now taking over the role of General Manager. The fight against piracy never remains static but Aaron has the creativity and skills to lead our industry’s efforts as both the threat and our response to it evolve. I am looking forward to the next chapter of CAP,” said AVIA CEO Louis Boswell.
Herps has over 15 years of content protection experience in the sports and entertainment industries across the Asia Pacific. Prior to joining AVIA, he was manager of Digital Content Protection for the Asia Pacific at beIN Media Group and was the senior manager of Global Content Protection at the Motion Picture Association of America for more than a decade.
Gaming
Roblox appoints Sunil Rao as India managing director to drive growth
Former AWS leader to lead creator ecosystem, partnerships and local strategy
MUMBAI: Roblox has appointed Sunil Rao as managing director for India, as the company looks to deepen its footprint in one of its fastest-growing markets.
Rao, who will join in May, will serve as the senior-most representative for Roblox in India, leading local strategy, partnerships and day-to-day operations. His mandate includes strengthening the platform’s presence, supporting the creator ecosystem and aligning India’s market needs with global priorities.
A key focus area will be nurturing India’s growing community of developers and creators, enabling local studios to leverage Roblox’s tools for scaling and monetisation. Globally, the platform’s creator community earned over $1.5 billion in 2025, underlining the economic potential of user-generated content ecosystems.
“Roblox is at the forefront of enabling a new generation of creators and games. India’s scale, creativity, and entrepreneurial energy present a massive opportunity,” said Rao. “I’m excited to build a vibrant and inclusive ecosystem that empowers developers and creators across the country. Ensuring child safety and aligning closely with India’s regulatory framework will be among my top priorities.”
Welcoming the appointment, Roblox vice president international Zhen Fang said India represents a high-potential market for the company. “Sunil brings deep expertise in building operations across diverse markets, and his passion for community-centric platforms makes him the ideal leader to drive our next chapter of growth in the country.”
Rao brings over two decades of experience across technology platforms, venture capital and developer ecosystems. He was previously part of the leadership team at Amazon Web Services, where he led strategy and corporate business development across Asia-Pacific and Japan. He also served as a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, working closely with startups and founders.
Earlier in his career, Rao played a key role in building developer ecosystems at Symbian, Nokia and Google, contributing to the growth of major mobile and internet platforms.
With India’s large youth population and rapidly evolving digital landscape, Roblox’s latest leadership move signals a sharper focus on long-term growth, local relevance and creator-led innovation in the market.
