Uber ANZ has announced the launch of Uber Advertising , the company’s first advertising sales division outside the US, and the appointment of Michael Levine (lead image) to lead the business.
The new leadership position is the first outside of the United States, and will hold responsibility for launching Uber’s advertising services across the region.
Levine joins Uber Advertising after a 10-year tenure at LinkedIn, where he led sales teams across Australia and North America, and was most recently Head of Enterprise for LinkedIn’s Marketing Solutions division in ANZ. Prior to LinkedIn, he worked in sales roles at nineMSN and The Guardian (UK).
As head of Uber Advertising Sales ANZ, Levine will build a local sales team to develop relationships across core restaurant partners within the Uber Eats app, as well as help brands in ANZ access new advertising opportunities across Uber’s mobility business as they launch.
He will also support Uber’s global advertising leadership team, helping shape the growth of new advertising solutions to reach millions of consumers across ANZ. In the US, Uber’s first advertising offering was sponsored listings for restaurant partners on Uber Eats – which launched in 2019. In 2021, the business began offering in-app advertising and Uber Out-of-Home (OOH) opportunities to the wider market.
Drew Mitchell, global head of ad sales, Uber Advertising said: “ANZ is one of the world’s most creative and dynamic advertising markets, and we are excited to be launching Uber’s suite of advanced advertising services to brands in the region. We could not think of a better leader than Michael to step into this pivotal role. His local and international experience, coupled with his deep relationship with brands and agencies will help ANZ brands lead the world by using Uber’s unique and fast-growing advertising network.”
Levine added: “I’m delighted to be joining Uber as a foundational member of the global advertising sales business, and at such an important time in the company’s journey. With millions of users across the region, Uber Advertising has a huge opportunity to help brands connect with a variety of target audiences. The business is perfectly placed to provide marketers with first-party targeting across location and shopping data, with closed loop attribution, and at significant scale.
“Building on the foundations of the already strong advertising offering across Uber Eats, I’m excited to also be setting up a team that will help launch new offerings across digital and out of home formats for both the delivery and mobility a to further support advertisers’ performance and branding campaigns.”