Singapore – Meltwater, a global leader in media monitoring and intelligence, has bolstered its presence in the Asia-Pacific region through strategic senior leadership appointments and key partnerships aimed at launching innovative AI-driven products.
The first of Meltwater’s new appointments is Josh Drasta, who will assume the role of enterprise sales area director for APAC. Drasta brings over a decade of experience in sales and partnerships, having worked with companies such as Digimind, Google, and Isentia. His previous experience with Linkfluence, which was acquired by Meltwater in 2021, further deepens his familiarity with the company’s capabilities and solutions.
Joining Drasta is Alexandra Feig, who has been appointed as the new head of talent for APAC. Feig will lead a dynamic team dedicated to designing and implementing innovative recruitment strategies, processes, and best practices. Before joining Meltwater, she spearheaded Zendesk’s talent acquisition efforts across APAC and held senior roles in talent acquisition at Indeed and EssenceMediacom.
Rounding out the series of new appointments is Chris Hackney, who will step into the role of chief product officer. Hackney will oversee the strategic direction, expansion, and operation of Meltwater’s product portfolio.
With over 25 years of experience in the technology sector, Hackney has successfully built several pioneering companies and has a proven track record of driving innovation and growth in B2B SaaS companies. He has also held executive positions at Cision, Trendkite, Mercury Healthcare, and AI Guardian.
Since Hackney’s appointment, Meltwater has introduced a series of significant product innovations and strategic partnerships.
Meltwater’s new appointments coincide with the company’s accelerated AI-driven growth, marked by innovative product launches. In addition to expanding its leadership team, Meltwater has secured a strategic partnership with Microsoft to introduce the new ‘Meltwater Copilot.’
Meltwater Copilot is a next-generation communications assistant built on Microsoft’s technology stack—including Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft 365, and Copilot for Microsoft 365. This tool enables users to access real-time insights such as brand mentions, sentiment analysis, key issues, and competitive benchmarking, all seamlessly integrated within their Teams environment.
The Meltwater Copilot App for Teams and its Microsoft 365 extension leverage cutting-edge AI from both Microsoft and Meltwater to harness Meltwater’s extensive global data set, processing over a billion pieces of information daily. Both companies aim to transform how communications and marketing professionals interact with data through this collaborative innovation.
Additionally, Meltwater has partnered with CYFIRMA to enhance its brand protection and digital security capabilities. This integrated solution combines Meltwater’s AI-powered media and social intelligence suite with CYFIRMA’s DeCYFIR—the industry’s first external threat landscape management platform—providing a comprehensive approach to risk monitoring and mitigation.
This partnership provides organisations with enhanced visibility into potential threats across diverse digital environments, enabling them to proactively protect their brand and make informed decisions in today’s complex digital landscape.
David Hickey, executive director for Asia Pacific at Meltwater, said, “We have seen significant growth this past year in key markets like the Philippines, Australia, China, and Japan, and AI continues to present a tremendous opportunity for Meltwater in the APAC region.”
“Our early investment in AI has led to the development of the latest generative AI capabilities, enabling our customers to unlock the full potential of online data without the need for technical expertise. We look forward to building on this momentum and rolling out more innovations that provide greater value, empowering organisations of all sizes to make better data-driven business decisions,” he added.
Recently, Meltwater’s consumer intelligence solution provided in-depth insights into the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Through visual analytics and social listening, it assessed how sports brands engaged with audiences and how the performance of select athletes influenced their visibility.
