Insider hires Faraaz Khan as Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer to further its fast growth through strategic mergers & acquisitions and channel & technology partnerships

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Jun 08, 2022, 10:00 ET

NEW YORK, June 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Insider currently operates in 26 countries, bringing AI-led cross-channel customer experience orchestration from Korea to Indonesia, UK to Brazil for 1000+ brands including industry powerhouses like Estée Lauder, Lenovo, New Balance, Puma, CNN, Virgin, and GAP. After penetrating some of the largest and mobile-first markets in Europe and Asia, establishing itself as a leader in the EU, and most recently expanding into the Americas and unlocking unicorn status, Insider is set to reaffirm its presence globally through inorganic growth and by building out its strategic partner alliances.

"Following our journey to democratize AI and marketing technologies in most of the toughest markets in the world and providing our technology globally at this scale, the time has come for Insider to extend its remarkable go-to-market expertise over the businesses that are scaling up. This will unlock greater growth opportunities for Insider. Faraaz brings immense experience and the required perspective to support our growth organically and through strategic mergers and acquisitions. Looking forward to achieving our aggressive growth targets together with Faraaz," said Hande Cilingir, Co-founder and CEO of Insider.

As the Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer, Faraaz will drive Insider's corporate strategy, spearhead inorganic growth by leading mergers and acquisitions, and drive organic growth through channel and technology partnerships. Faraaz has spent almost a decade driving growth at B2B enterprise software companies of various sizes, including Sitecore, Intercom, and Thomson Reuters. Faraaz led and advised on numerous mergers and acquisitions across the MarTech space including digital asset management, customer data platforms, e-commerce, marketing automation, AI search & merchandising, and front-end-as–a-service. He also led the successful carve-out and sale of the IP & Science division of Thomson Reuters (now Clarivate Analytics) to private equity in 2015. Prior to his career in technology, Faraaz was part of the TMT practice of Booz & Company (now Strategy&) advising clients on strategic investments, an investment banker at Macquarie Capital advising on major transactions such as the public market takeover of DAX-listed Techem AG and the merger of Truvo's Gouden Gids directory business with De Telefoongids. Faraaz started his career advising clients across multiple sectors as part of the Transaction Advisory Services practice at Ernst & Young.

Faraaz has Master's degrees from INSEAD and the London School of Economics and a dual bachelor's degree in Finance and Supply Chain Management from Arizona State University. He will continue to be based in San Fransisco and report to Insider Co-founder & CEO, Hande Cilingir.

"Insider has seen remarkable growth over the past few years and has been recognized as a Leader by Forrester, Gartner, IDC and most importantly by its loyal customers on G2 Crowd across a host of categories," said Faraaz Khan, Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer at Insider. "All of this has been achieved organically, largely on the back of our direct sales channel in Europe and Asia. The goal is to accelerate growth further through strategic mergers and acquisitions into categories that will add even more value to our customers, and by growing and enabling our loyal partner network. I am extremely excited to be joining the company as it enters the US to establish Insider as the #1 marketing platform trusted by marketers and analysts alike."

About Insider

Insider—one platform for individualized, cross-channel experiences—enables enterprise marketers to connect customer data across channels and systems, predict their future behavior with an AI intent engine and individualize customer experiences. Marketers use Insider's platform to deliver experiences across channels like Web, App, Web Push, Email, SMS, and Messaging Apps (WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, RCS).

Insider recently unlocked unicorn status and NASDAQ congratulated the company for becoming one of the few woman-founded, women-led B2B SaaS unicorns in the world. Insider was named as the #1 Leader in The Forrester Wave for Cross-Channel Campaign Management 2021 and Gartner Magic Quadrant for Personalization Engines 2021. The company has been named #1 Leader on G2's Mobile Marketing Software and Personalization Grids with a 4.6/5 rating for 20 consecutive quarters. CrunchBase recently ranked Insider's co-founder and CEO Hande Cilingir as one of the top women CEOs outside the US.

Many of the most prestigious Fortune 500 companies and top brands in retail, automotive, and travel use Insider to deliver AI-backed personalized experiences that exceed customer expectations. Insider is trusted by over 1,200 global businesses, including Singapore Airlines, Virgin, Toyota, New Balance, IKEA, GAP, L'Oreal, Samsung, Newsweek, MediaMarkt, Nissan, AVIS, Marks & Spencer, Allianz, Madeira Madeira, Santander, BBVA, Pizza Hut, Avon, and CNN.