Snapchat Hires Exec Who Ran Facebook’s Ad Network

Sriram Krishnan, the Facebook exec who’s been running the company’s ad network, is headed to Snapchat.

Krishnan joined Facebook in 2013 and helped launch the ad network, called Audience Network, in early 2014 so that Facebook could sell display and video ad space inside apps it doesn’t own. Krishnan announced that he was leaving Facebook last week in an email, according to sources.

A Snapchat spokesperson confirmed Krishnan’s hire to Re/code and said he’ll be part of the company’s growth and revenue team, but declined to share specifics of the role. A Facebook spokesperson separately confirmed Krishnan’s departure.

LinkedIn

So it’s not clear what Krishnan’s role will be at Snapchat, but it’s easy to connect a few dots. Snapchat is in the early stages of growing its advertising business, and it doesn’t offer an ads API, which means it’s selling ad inventory “by hand.” CEO Evan Spiegel is interested in automating that process with ad tech, and the company has been chatting with ad tech startups to both learn about the industry and scope out potential acquisitions.

Now they’ve hired an experienced ad tech expert from a company that has figured out how to make a ton of money from mobile advertising. Krishnan helped build an ad network, but he also has experience building app-install ads, which have been incredibly lucrative for Facebook in the past.

It’s likely that Snapchat, with a $16 billion valuation and IPO aspirations, is interested in both of those options.

Krishnan is the latest in a number of high profile Snapchat hires to come from Facebook. Few of them have stuck around, though, including former COO Emily White, HR head Sara Sperling and revenue boss Mike Randall.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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