SoftBank and Goldman Sachs veteran joins Grab’s strong leadership team.
SINGAPORE – October 14, 2016 – Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing app, today announced that Ming Maa has joined the company as President, based in Singapore. In this new role, Ming will primarily be responsible for driving corporate development activities, including strategic partnerships and investment opportunities, developing and executing on new market strategies, managing the company’s overall capital structure, and other corporate activities.
Ming has over 12 years of finance and investment experience across the U.S. and Asia. He joins Grab from SoftBank Group Corp., a leading global technology company and one of Grab’s key strategic investors, where he was based in Tokyo and played a key role in overseeing SoftBank’s investments in leading companies in the ridesharing and e-commerce industries, including SoftBank’s April 2015 Series D investment in Grab and additional Series F investment in September 2016. He joins Grab at an exciting time, as the company capitalizes on the growth opportunity presented by a rising population of middle class and mobile users, most notably in Indonesia, as well as invests strategically in its mobile payments capabilities to enable a seamless daily transaction experience.
“Ming is incredibly strategic, and his insights from over a decade of investing in the U.S. and Asia will be of tremendous value as we continue to extend Grab’s market leadership across Southeast Asia,” said Anthony Tan, Group CEO and Co-founder, Grab. “As the best capitalized start-up in the region, we remain focused on leading the way in creating the best possible experience for users, while growing our core transportation platform and enhancing GrabPay, our payments platform. Ming’s appointment reflects our commitment to delivering continued rapid growth and innovation, and we are thrilled to welcome him to our team.”
“I am delighted to join the highly-talented Grab team, and am excited to leverage my experience, in e-commerce and rideshare, to build on Grab’s success, as we create the next-generation mobile ecosystem in Southeast Asia,” said Ming.
Prior to joining SoftBank, Ming was a Principal at Ancora Capital Management Pte Ltd based in Jakarta. Prior to Ancora, between 2000-2012, Ming was a Vice President in Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division, the firm’s global private equity group, and was based in Tokyo and San Francisco. At Goldman Sachs, he managed investments across a wide spectrum of industries and served on the boards of several technology and media companies. Ming received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
About Grab
Grab is Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing platform. Grab solves critical transportation challenges to make transport freedom a reality for 620 million people in Southeast Asia. Grab began as a taxi-hailing app in 2012, but has expanded its core product platform to include private cars and motorbikes. Grab is focused on pioneering new commuting alternatives for drivers and passengers with an emphasis on convenience, safety and reliability. As part of its innovative culture, Grab is testing new services such as social carpooling, as well as last mile and food deliveries. Grab currently offers services in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. For more information, please visit: http://www.grab.com.
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