Google’s Sapna Chadha takes on expanded APAC ads remit

Google has elevated Sapna Chadha (pictured) to vice president of Asia Pacific ads go-to-market strategy and operations, expanding her remit across the region after nearly four years leading its Southeast Asia and South Asia frontier business.

In her new role, Chadha will lead go-to-market strategy and operations for Google's ads business across Asia Pacific. Her responsibilities span business strategy, growth priorities, resource allocation, product commercialisation, sales operations and business intelligence.

Chadha said her focus will be on building a scalable engine that translates Google's artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into business outcomes across the region.

Don't miss: Google Maps gets chatty with Gemini-powered Ask Maps in Singapore

"APAC has every ingredient to define the global pace of this transformation," she said in a LinkedIn post announcing the move, adding that the aim is to ensure businesses working with Google are able to lead, rather than simply navigate, the shift.

The move marks an expansion of Chadha's regional responsibilities after she spent close to four years as vice president of Southeast Asia and South Asia frontier at Google Asia Pacific. In that role, she oversaw the company's business across Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Pakistan, with a focus on large customer sales.

Reflecting on her previous role, Chadha pointed to Google's expansion into markets including Vietnam and Pakistan, as well as its work in emerging areas such as video commerce. She added that the experience was also shaped by the team navigating changing market conditions and building the business across the region.

Chadha has been with Google for more than 12 years, having joined the company in 2014 as head of small and medium-sized business marketing for India. She later served as head of marketing for India before taking on increasingly regional marketing responsibilities across India and Southeast Asia.

She was named marketing director for Google Southeast Asia and India in 2017 and became senior marketing director for the two regions in 2019. In 2021, she was elevated to vice president of marketing, overseeing consumer and business marketing across 12 markets in India, Southeast Asia and South Asia, before moving into her Southeast Asia and South Asia Frontier leadership role in 2023.

Prior to Google, Chadha spent a decade at American Express, where her roles included vice president and chief marketing officer of American Express Banking Corp in India, as well as positions spanning product management, business planning, strategy and operations in India and the US.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out for more information. 

Chadha's expanded remit comes as Google builds out its advertising and commerce capabilities in Southeast Asia. In July, the tech giant unveiled a suite of new advertising tools at Google Marketing Live Southeast Asia in Singapore, connecting its AI-powered Search capabilities with YouTube's creator ecosystem to help brands shorten the path from product discovery to purchase.

The push comes amid the growth of video commerce in the region. According to Google, the channel grew fivefold between 2022 and 2025 and now accounts for 25% of Southeast Asia's total eCommerce gross merchandise value (GMV).

Related articles: 
BTS turns Google Gemini into an AI playground for ARMY    
How Google Gemini Spark is rewiring the HK marketing playbook   
Google deepens AI shopping push with virtual try-on