Waze appoints new country manager for Malaysia
KUCHING: Waze moves to strengthen its position as Malaysia’s go- to platform for bringing together communities on and off the road, with the appointment of Kelvin Sim as its new country manager for Malaysia.
As the country’s new lead, Sim’s focus will be on growing the business, establishing local partnerships to improve the driving experience for all Malaysians and promoting community engagement to address transportation challenges.
He brings a rich professional experience spanning over 18 years and across multiple industries, from being a part of the biggest radio boom in Malaysia, to charting marketing strategies for one of the biggest local banks as well as numerous telecommunications providers, in addition to being involved in growing, establishing and facilitating digital mobile strategies and solutions.
Having polished his skills in Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines, Kelvin solidified his understanding of the Southeast Asian landscape while igniting his passion in digital marketing by developing strategic insights that help craft relevant content, bringing a brand’s story to life in the digital ecosystem.
With these experiences, Sim is poised to lead Waze’s data- driven content- marketing initiatives to drive commerce for local businesses and build brand affinity with the Waze driving community.
“I look forward to being a part of a company that shares my vision in building not just a great app, but a great community that is facilitated through technology.
“Beyond offering great insights on drivers and helping businesses grow, we see our roles as fulfilling a bigger mission to empower communities with the tools and insights they need to build safer and more efficient cities, improving people’s lives and empowering them to be part of something more meaningful,” said Sim in a statement.
As part of Waze’s growth in the country, Kelvin now leads a team that is dedicated to managing local advertising and marketing services while leading more initiatives to help improve driving conditions in Malaysia through various initiatives such as the Waze Connected Citizens Program (CCP).
In the past, Waze’s CCP collaboration with the Selangor state government has helped Selangorians take back control of their roads by allowing them to specifically report potholes that need patching. With Sim onboard, Waze hopes to see more meaningful collaborations take place.
In addition to bringing in the most helpful features for drivers in Malaysia, Waze is also committed to building a great community that is empowered to solve problems using technology. One important role Sim will undertake is to engage with the Malaysian Waze community – one of the largest in the world, which currently numbers 5.9 million monthly active users.
The Malaysian community of Waze Map Editors is also one of the world’s most active, featuring more than 300 volunteers who proactively contribute their time, skills and effort to share road insights and update Waze maps to ensure that Malaysians can have the best possible driving experience with Waze.