Southeast Asian dating provider Paktor Group has just appointed a new CEO.
Current CTO Ng Jing Shen is taking over from Joseph Phua as CEO.
Ng and Phua co-founded the dating app Paktor together, prior to which Ng was a software engineer at Amazon, part of the core team that developed and launched AWS Marketplace.
Joseph Phua will continue as the Group CEO of M17, the combined company that was created after Paktor acquired a controlling stake in Taiwan livestreaming company 17 Media last year.
Jing Shen said: “Joseph has been a great steward of Paktor Group by initiating the right strategy and thoughtful succession plan for long-term success.
“I am delighted to serve as the new CEO of Paktor Group and greatly inspired to grow Paktor into a strong global brand.
“I look forward to working closely with my team to achieve the vision of bringing matchmaking into the 21st century by disrupting how people date and introducing innovative dating solutions which are unique to the marketplace.”
In addition to the new CEO, Paktor has promoted current head of marketing Shn Juay to COO – both appointments effective 1st November 2017.
Reporting to CEO Ng Jing Shen, Shn will be leading the company’s day-to-day operations, strengthening the Paktor brand and capitalising on emerging opportunities in the dating space.
Shn Juay said: “I’ve had the opportunity to experience Paktor’s rapid growth over the last 3 years and am excited about the new career opportunity which Paktor management team has provided me.
“I have developed a deep appreciation for Paktor’s people, company values and founders’ vision over the past years and I look forward to working with everyone tied to Paktor during this hypergrowth period.”
Speaking about the new appointments, Joseph Phua said: “Managing the Paktor Group businesses to ensure our long-term growth requires a thoughtful and orderly succession planning process.
“Having worked closely with Jing Shen since the founding of Paktor app, I am certain that his expertise with our company values and technology system, coupled with an acute understanding of evolving market trends in the dating space make him the absolute right choice to effectively lead our company.
“Jing Shen has the strategic vision and inspirational leadership to usher in the next phase of growth for the business.”
In August, M17 raised $40m in funding led by Japanese venture firm Infinity Venture Partners (IVP).
M17 Entertainment has offices in Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia, with a total staff of 300.
The combined business owns dating products Paktor, Down, Sweet, Goodnight, GaiGai and Kickoff, as well as 17 Media’s live streaming app 17.
Read more here.