Google has named Ben King to lead its newly combined Singapore and Malaysia operations, merging agency and partner functions across Southeast Asia. A 13-year Google veteran, King brings extensive regional experience and will drive AI-led solutions, streamlined operations, and strategic growth in one of the company’s fastest-growing markets.
Google has named Ben King to take charge of its newly combined Singapore–Malaysia business, in a move that underscores its ambitions in Southeast Asia’s fast-growing digital economy. The appointment places King at the helm of an expanded cluster that brings together the two markets, along with a larger regional Agency & Partner (A&P) function.
In his new role, King will oversee sales and operations in both Singapore and Malaysia, while leading Google’s A&P team across Southeast Asia and its South Asia frontier. This consolidation unites agency and partner leads from markets including Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore — covering media, creative, tech, platform and creator partnerships.
Google says that merging the Singapore and Malaysia teams will help it deliver “best‑in-class strategies and vertical expertise” more efficiently, and accelerate the rollout of AI‑driven products across the region. Campaign Asia King, in a LinkedIn post, expressed his excitement at working with the “exceptional group of folks” across these teams.
King is no stranger to the region. A 13‑year veteran of Google, he has held leadership roles in Singapore — as well as in other Asia markets. His earlier career included international stints: he ran Google’s business development in Thailand between 2015 and 2019, and has worked in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. The University of Sydney+1 Before joining Google in 2012, King worked at Microsoft Advertising in Australia.
King’s rise reflects his deep experience in driving Google’s regional momentum. As Google Singapore’s managing director, his work has often bridged both commercial and public policy ambitions — from developing local digital ecosystems, to skilling programs. The University of Sydney. He has spoken in past interviews about leading teams in SEA with agility, shaping Google’s products to local markets, and balancing the needs of innovation with long-term, sustainable investments.
The reorganisation comes at a time when Google is doubling down on AI across Southeast Asia. In a recent blog post, the company highlighted its drive to support governments, enterprises, and communities in building AI skills, establishing sustainability-focused AI solutions, and scaling regional AI infrastructure. By combining Singapore and Malaysia under one leadership, Google appears to be not just streamlining operations but reinforcing its push to deliver complex, AI-led solutions across the region in a more unified manner.
King’s journey to the top has been unconventional yet rooted in adaptability. In a university profile, he shared how his media‑and‑communications background and time playing cricket helped him build the resilience and strategic thinking needed for a career that would take him across multiple countries. The University of Sydney His early Google assignments in different SEA markets gave him ground-level insights into the dynamics of growth, partnerships, and localised innovation.
While the newly unified cluster signals stronger integration, it also reflects Google’s broader strategy: to deliver more consistent regional offerings across agency, creative, and tech partnerships, while leveraging AI to meet rapidly evolving market needs. For Google, this may be a way to drive synergies and scale in two of its most important Southeast Asian markets.
For King, the appointment is a significant endorsement of his leadership and his deep regional experience. It positions him to shape Google’s next phase of growth in a region where digital transformation — especially powered by AI — is accelerating.
