Netflix names new director of brand partnerships for Asia Pacific

Netflix has appointed Kumar Kanagasabapathy as director of brand partnerships for Asia Pacific.

Kanagasabapathy announced the appointment in a LinkedIn post, where he reflected on the end of his tenure at IPG Mediabrands and a brief six-month stint at Omnicom Media following the acquisition, adding that he is "excited to bring these lessons to Netflix, where I'll be helping brands become part of stories that move people."

Kanagasabapathy most recently served as APAC chief strategy officer at IPG Mediabrands, a role he took on in January 2025. Based in Singapore, he was responsible for driving strategic transformation across 14 markets while rebuilding strategy capabilities and products for the network's agencies, including Initiative and UM. 

Don't miss: Netflix chairman to step down as streamer posts strong Q1 results 

Before relocating to Asia Pacific, he held several global leadership positions within IPG Mediabrands' dedicated Amazon agency, Rufus. These included global chief strategy officer, head of global strategy and head of strategy for the US business, where he led strategic planning across Amazon's brand, retail, entertainment and B2B businesses.

Prior to joining IPG Mediabrands, Kanagasabapathy held senior strategy roles at MediaCom, Horizon Media and Maxus in Los Angeles, working across clients including adidas, NBCUniversal, Disney, Sony Crackle and California Lottery.

In his LinkedIn post, Kanagasabapathy also reflected on the importance of collaboration throughout his career.

"One thing I've learned over twenty years is that ideas are extremely fragile. They become interesting and worth fighting for only because people challenge them, remix them, and stubbornly keep them alive long enough for the rest of the world to see," he said.

Kanagasabapathy joins Netflix at a time when the streaming giant is rapidly expanding its advertising business. Earlier this year, Netflix said its ad-supported tier had surpassed 250 million monthly active viewers globally and announced plans to roll out the offering to 15 additional markets from 2027, including Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

The company is also investing in AI-powered advertising tools, contextual targeting and audience planning capabilities as it positions itself as a larger player in the global advertising market.

Related articles:   
Netflix sets guardrails for AI use in content production 
How SKIMS turned a Netflix character into a brand campaign  
Ferrero and Netflix reimagine Wonka for a new generation