Women to Watch 2021: Tasha Kaur, Magnite

Tasha Kaur

Operations director, Asia
Magnite
Singapore

Even if you just focus on the last year, Tasha Kaur's achievements are noteworthy. In that time she has driven two key product launches for SpotX (acquired by Magnite in February) in the Southeast Asia market: SpotX Studio, an in-house creative production service which adds interactivity to video ads, and Brand Lift Studies, which measure the success of ad campaigns against key performance metrics from awareness to consideration. These two launches have led to more than 80 activations since October 2020 with clients in automotive, technology and retail categories. And SpotX Studio's interactive ads claim to deliver 54% higher click-through rates than standard ad formats. 

Kaur's list of achievements also includes driving the adoption of private marketplaces and programmatic-guaranteed offerings to double the number of new media owners that adopt programmatic across the region; supporting the activation of more than 15 OTT platforms in Southeast Asia to deliver programmatic video; pushing forward supply-path optimisation, leading SpotX to be selected as a key supply vendor with The Trade Desk, GroupM and Publicis; and managing the launch of SpotX’s Audience Management Engine in Southeast Asia, which enables media to more easily activate first- and third-party data across programmatic transactions and has been employed by major brands in FMCG and food and beverage categories.

With career experience on both the buy and sell sides, Kaur leads the large Asia operations team at Magnite, where her ability to identify problems and find solutions has earned her a deep level of trust within the industry and has helped foster long-term business relationships.

Seen by clients as a trusted adviser who commonly goes above and beyond, Kaur also demonstrates devotion to the development of her team members. She has revamped the learning and development programme for the SEA operations team and worked with the US learning team and local vendors to create a bespoke, modular curriculum tailored to individual needs. A coach who mentors and empowers, Kaur is credited with building a positive, resilient and ambitious team that thrives on problem solving, fastidious attention to detail and rapid innovation. 

Kaur contributes to the industry on a broader basis through participation in the IAB's SEA and India Programmatic Committee, and she is a mentor for the She Says and Girls in Tech Mentorship programmes.

Kaur was included in Campaign Asia-Pacific's 40 Under 40 last year.