The social platform is expanding its sales unit, also bringing on a Google veteran and a former exec from The Trade Desk.
Mary Ann Belliveau, an alum of Reddit, X (then Twitter), and Google, is joining Snap as its president of North America Sales, Snap announced on Thursday.
Belliveau most recently led large customer sales in North America for Reddit, where she worked with Fortune 500 companies and their agencies to develop scalable marketing strategies. During her tenure, Reddit grew its revenue from under $100 million to over $1 billion in the span of five years.
Now, Snap is betting that the exec’s wealth of digital media experience will help bolster its advertising business.
“I’m thrilled to join the Snap team and dive into Snap’s North America business,” said Belliveau in a statement shared with ADWEEK. “As one of the most innovative companies in the world, Snap has built an incredible community of 900 million, revamped their ad platform to focus on performance, and introduced exciting new formats that help partners reach a unique Gen Z and millennial audience.”
Bob Cornwall, a former executive at The Trade Desk, joins as general manager of Canada. He previously held positions at Google, Mondelēz, and Unilever.
Plus, Izabela Lopes is taking the post of senior director of screens and services for North America. Lopes most recently served as managing director of ads at Google.
The expansion of Snap’s sales arm arrives at a moment when the social platform—which has 460 million daily active users—is dialing up its advertising efforts.
At its NewFronts event this spring, Snap announced a suite of AI-powered advertising solutions including automated bidding aligned to advertisers’ set cost-per-action parameters and smart budget features designed to optimize ROI.
The app has also been trying to cash in on TikTok’s uncertain future in the U.S., offering financial incentives for advertisers this spring.
These developments followed the debut of two ad formats on the platform launched last fall: Sponsored Snaps, which enable advertisers to send branded messages directly to users in their Chat inbox; and Promoted Places, which spotlight places of interest on Snap Map, helping advertisers gain visibility among local audiences.
The arrival of Belliveau, Cornwall and Lopes comes less than six months after Ajit Mohan was appointed chief business officer at Snap, stepping up from his former role as president of APAC.
Now, Mohan is focused on building out a more robust sales team in North America to help brands and their partners improve performance through the platform’s engaged millennial and Gen Z user base.
“I look forward to working with Mary Ann, Bob, and Izabela to help drive Snap’s momentum across North America,” Mohan said in a statement.
Snap will announce its second quarter earnings on August 5. The stock is down more than 19% since the start of the year.
Correction July 11 at 1:42 pm E.T.: A previous version of this story inaccurately stated that Snap’s second quarter earnings would be announced July 17. They will be announced August 5.