Near Bolsters Australia-New Zealand Leadership Team With Key Executive Hires

Leaders from Google, SAS, Immutable and Australian Environmental Lending join to scale growing demand for company's best-in-class data intelligence platform

SYDNEY, July 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Near, the world's largest source of intelligence on people and places, today announced the addition of two technology industry veterans to its Australia-New Zealand leadership team. Ed Lowther-Harris joins as Managing Director and David Raitt as General Manager, bringing more than four decades of sales and marketing experience to Near. Headquartered in Sydney, Lowther-Harris and Raitt will be responsible for accelerating Near's regional go-to-market efforts and providing on-the-ground support for its growing customer roster and value-adding partner ecosystem.

"Hiring the best and brightest has always been core to our company's success—Ed and David are shining examples," said Anil Mathews, Founder & CEO, Near. "Not only do they have proven expertise leading go-to-market teams at companies like Google, SAS, Data Republic, Immutable and Spotify; they also embody Near's commitment and dedication to helping customers leverage data to grow their businesses. Their contributions will be key for us as we continue to expand our regional footprint across Australia and New Zealand."

Ed Lowther-Harris joins Near from Australian Environmental Lending,  provider of environmental upgrade agreements (EUAs), where he served as Managing Director. Prior to that, he was Sales Director at Data Republic, provider of safe, secure, well governed and permission-based data exchanges. As a founding employee, Lowther-Harris built and led the sales and partner strategy to deliver millions in revenue for the company. He's also held previous roles in a number of prominent firms, including Capgemini, Arthur Andersen, as well as emerging startups like Trade ledger.

"I had been following Near for many years. When I heard about the UM acquisition and the company's strategy to take its data solutions pan-industry, I immediately knew this was a company I wanted to be a part of," said Lowther-Harris.  "Everything from their seasoned leadership, and their vision of transforming the way companies utilize data to understand consumer behavior, is unmatched. In a few short months, we've delivered projects that have never before been possible—and we're just getting started."

Marketing technologist David Raitt joins Near from Immutable where he served as VP of Business Development and was responsible for scaling the company. Previously, Raitt spent over two decade's leading commercial teams at Theorem, Spotify and Google. At the latter, he was the fifth employee hired to launch the advertising sales team based in London.

"I am excited to join Near at this transformational time in data analytics," said Raitt. "As the industry grapples with the changes put upon us by a few global platforms, Near leads with 'Privacy by Design' engineering principles. These principles serve us well and have enabled Near to be the most robust data intelligence platform for global leaders in consumer goods, media and retail—in their quest to authenticate, activate and attribute value to audiences."

Today's announcement comes on the heels of a series of strategic acquisitions to further strengthen its position as a global leader in data intelligence. In November 2020, Near acquired Paris-based location intelligence platform Teemo to cement its foothold in the European market. The company also recently acquired data insights leader, UM (formerly UberMedia) to enhance its portfolio of data products for its customers in the U.S. market

About NearNear is the world's largest source of intelligence on people and places, processing data from over 1.6 billion monthly users across 44 countries. The Near Platform powers data-driven marketing and enrichment offerings through a suite of SaaS products. The users of the platform can leverage audience, spatial, retail, among other data in a privacy-led environment. Founded in 2012, Near is headquartered in Singapore with offices in San Francisco, New York, London, Bangalore, Tokyo, and Sydney. Today, marquee brands such as News Corp work with Near to provide enhanced customer experiences. Near is backed by leading investors including Sequoia Capital, JP Morgan Private Equity Group, Cisco Investments, Telstra Ventures, and Greater Pacific Capital. Visit www.near.co to find out more.