MUMBAI: Discovery Networks Asia Pacific has hired Jay Trindad as senior vice president and general manager for its northeast business. He will be based in Tokyo and will report to Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific managing director and president Arthur Bastings.

“As we inject digital into our DNA, I am thrilled to have someone of Jay’s calibre join our team,” said Bastings. “His expertise in pure-play digital and consumer-centric innovation is invaluable as we evolve and take Discovery to the next stage of growth, particularly in northeast Asia, where we are looking to meaningfully invest and take full advantage of the region’s sophisticated and widespread wireless infrastructure.”

The hire highlights the company’s wide bet on digital as a driver of business in coming years.

At Discovery, he will focus on delivering compelling brand experiences to the millennial audience by redefining Discovery’s suite of products, the company said in a statement.

International president J.B. Perrette in part landed his post thanks to his expertise in digital, having been on the launch team of US VOD platform Hulu. Korean country manager Hee-Man Lee and his team will be folded into the new group, which will also include Japan. Whereas, Discovery’s Japanese chief Louis Boswell, will now lead the cable giant’s southeast Asia operations.

Hoekstra subsequently joined Vice Media to roll out its linear channel, Viceland, across Europe.

Trindad has a varied CV, having worked at search giant Google for ten years, recently leading a push to promote the Google Chrome browser in Asia; translation platform Gengo; and mobile payment gateway Square Inc.

He was most recently VP, digital at McDonald’s Japan, where he led strategy and increased customer engagement through digital initiatives.