Pinterest Nabs Facebook’s Melinda Petrunoff For APAC Country Manager Role

Pinterest has announced that Melinda Petrunoff is joining as its new country manager for Australia and New Zealand.

Petrunoff is a media and tech industry veteran with vast experience managing fast-growing sales teams and a deep knowledge of working with advertising and media agencies. As country manager for ANZ, Petrunoff’s responsibilities will include leading the sales team and working closely with brands and agencies to further expand Pinterest’s advertising program in Australia and New Zealand.

Petrunoff will be joining Pinterest from Facebook where she has helped to grow Facebook’s APAC business over the past eight years holding a variety of leadership roles, most recently as managing director of its Scaled, ANZ based in Singapore. She has more than 20 years of leadership, sales, marketing and operations experience building successful digital businesses across Asia and the Pacific. Petrunoff is also a board member of OzHarvest where she is currently responsible for leading the strategy committee

In Australia, Pinterest is expanding its Sydney office by two-times this year, including new roles for its sales team and supporting functions focused on content and creators. This marks the largest expansion of Pinterest’s team in Australia since opening an office in Sydney in 2019.

Petrunoff will take the lead to further drive Pinterest’s advertising business in ANZ. Additionally, she will be working closely with cross-functional teams within the company to ensure Pinterest users in ANZ have a personalised, meaningful experience on Pinterest to help them create a life they love. She will report to Erin Elofson, Canada and APAC at Pinterest.

Commenting on her new role, Petrunoff said: Pinterest is a unique and valuable platform for businesses to connect with audiences who are asking for inspiration from trusted brands. I’ve been impressed with how Pinterest helps brands create ads on Pinterest that inspire purchasing decisions, increase engagement and reach consumers right when they’re planning to take action on their next dream ideas. I’m thrilled to join the team and look forward to building on its momentum to expand and build the Pinterest advertising business in ANZ.”

Elofson said: “Melinda’s deep experience in tech and media as well as driving results for clients and agencies of all sizes makes her an ideal fit to expand our business in Australia and New Zealand. Pinterest is a positive and inspiring environment where brands are essential, and we’re excited to help ANZ businesses thrive and drive sales on Pinterest under Melinda’s leadership.”

Pinterest is a visual inspiration platform where more than 400 million people around the world come each month to plan things in their lives such as what to eat for dinner, what products to buy, how to decorate their homes and which new destinations to travel. People come to Pinterest ready to try something new, which makes it an ideal platform for businesses, publishers and creators to feature their products and services, how-to videos and tutorials, and to tell an interesting brand story.

Pinterest has a growing, passionate user base in Australia and New Zealand and there is an opportunity for businesses to connect with this audience when they’re considering what to do or buy. According to Nielsen, Pinterest has 7.9 million monthly unique visitors in Australia. Businesses can engage with customers who are planning what to buy next with 83 per cent of weekly Pinners saying they made a purchase based on content they saw from brands on Pinterest (GfK, Pinterest Path to Purchase Study among Weekly Pinners who use Pinterest in the Category). Pinterest’s team in ANZ will further help local brands reach their target audiences and inspire consumers.

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