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Chai Jia Jih was instrumental in bringing the Airbnb Asia hub to Singapore

The very first Southeast Asian employee of Airbnb is making a big move, as Carousell has announced the appointment of Chai Jia Jih as Vice President (International), effective March 2.

Chai will be expected to immediately join the leadership team and work closely with Co-founders Quek Siu Rui, Lucas Ngoo and Marcus Tan.

“Joining the Carousell family is a great start to the year, and I’m thrilled to be embarking on this journey with such a passionate team,” Chai said in an official statement.

Also Read: Language translation sends Carousell into a tizzy, so FB lends a hand

The mobile marketplace also expressed a desire to accelerate international expansion and Chai will be the man leading the charge.

“Jia Jih understands the challenges of early-stage hyper growth, and having contributed so vitally in building Airbnb up to the esteemed brand that it is today, we firmly believe that he will be able to help us navigate our growth and capture opportunities as Carousell scales even quicker than before,” Co-founder Marcus Tan said in a statement.

Chai is currently the the Airbnb Managing Director for Southeast Asia and Head of APAC Host Operations. He has worked at the company for three and a half years, and was instrumental in bringing the American startup’s Asia hub to Singapore.

Chai has been in the tech scene for 12 years and prior to the role at Airbnb, he was a Partner at McKinsey & Company and worked to advise companies in the tech sector. Before that, he worked at a software startup as an engineer and project manager.

Carousell is a peer-to-peer marketplace where people buy and sell used items through the mobile app. The company is now facing a strong competitor, as Internet unicorn Garena officially launched its own P2P marketplace called Shopee in late-November 2015.

Also Read: Infographic: New web platform to bring Carousell’s listings to larger audiences

In November 2014 Carousell raised a US$6 million round from the likes of Sequoia Capital, Rakuten Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures and 500 Startups.

The post Carousell hires Airbnb rockstar to take charge of international growth appeared first on e27.

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