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Taboola has appointed Krishan Bhatia as chief business officer, putting him in charge of global sales and partnerships as it expands its advertising and publisher relationships.
Bhatia joins from Amazon, where he led global video advertising and partnerships across Prime Video, live sports, Twitch and third-party programmers as VP, Global Video Advertising and Partnerships.
Before Amazon, he was President and chief business officer of NBCUniversal's Global Advertising and Partnerships division, overseeing digital, streaming TV and advanced advertising operations.
At Taboola, Bhatia will lead commercial activity across the product portfolio, including the Realise performance advertising platform and its publisher partnership network. His remit also covers CTV performance products and generative AI products, including DeeperDive.
The appointment adds a new C-suite role. Taboola described Bhatia as its first chief business officer.
Commercial focus
Taboola sells performance advertising inventory across its network and through its platform, working with publishers and device makers as well as advertisers and agencies.
It positions Realise as a performance advertising offering beyond search and social, pitching it as a way for advertisers to reach audiences across publisher properties and other placements outside major social and search platforms.
Taboola also works directly with publishers on monetisation and audience products, partnerships that underpin its supply of ad placements across news, lifestyle and other media sites.
CEO Adam Singolda said the appointment comes as the company expands both products and commercial activity.
"Krishan is joining Taboola at a pivotal moment in our journey," said Adam Singolda, CEO of Taboola.
He said Taboola is pushing into performance advertising across the open web and beyond, while expanding publisher-facing generative AI work.
"We are redefining performance advertising on the open web and beyond. Realise is gaining real momentum as advertisers look for scalable growth beyond search and social. At the same time, DeeperDive is bringing generative AI directly to publishers in ways that are helping them innovate and thrive. The opportunity in front of us is massive."
Sales and partnerships
The role puts Bhatia at the centre of Taboola's relationships with agencies, brands and strategic partners, with the company pointing to his experience building advertising businesses across technology and media.
"Krishan has helped build and scale some of the most important advertising businesses in the world at Amazon and NBCUniversal," said Singolda.
Singolda also linked the appointment to Taboola's scale and operating structure, with Eldad Maniv continuing as President and chief operating officer.
"We've spent years building a powerful foundation for long term success, surpassing two billion dollars in revenue under the strong leadership of Eldad Maniv, our President and COO. With that momentum, I'm excited to welcome Krishan Bhatia to the team as our first Chief Business Officer and for what he will bring as we scale the company and take our go to market execution to the next level."
Taboola did not say whether the appointment changes reporting lines for regional sales leaders or partnership teams, or how responsibilities will be split between the chief business officer role and other commercial leadership positions.
Product portfolio
Realise is central to Taboola's pitch to advertisers seeking performance outcomes from placements that resemble native advertising units. Taboola has also been building CTV-related performance products as budgets shift towards streaming and connected TV.
DeeperDive is one of its newer publisher products, described as a generative AI offering designed to fit into publisher workflows and on-site user experiences.
In comments included with the announcement, Bhatia highlighted Taboola's ambitions in performance advertising and publisher products.
"Taboola has a bold vision for the future, built on global scale and innovative technology to become a powerhouse for performance advertising and publisher success," said Krishan Bhatia, Chief Business Officer at Taboola.
He pointed to recent launches and what he described as market signals around generative AI and performance marketing beyond established channels.
"Over the past year, Taboola has hit exciting milestones. The introduction of Realise further solidifies Taboola's place as the leading player in performance advertising outside of search and social. Taboola's launch of DeeperDive, pace of innovation with generative AI, and continued commitment to drive success for advertisers and partners are strong signals that today's market demands. I'm excited to come onboard at this pivotal point of growth for Taboola and to work alongside the entire team."
Bhatia will take charge of global sales and partnerships as Taboola broadens its advertiser base and deepens relationships with publishers and platform partners.