MUMBAI: CNN Digital has appointed Marc Lourdes as the new director of CNN Digital Asia. Lourdes will be based in Hong Kong and will lead the channel’s digital Asia team across editorial content and multi-platform programming for CNN’s global audience during that time-zone. He will begin with this new role immediately.

He will work closely with CNN’s digital teams in London, Abu Dhabi, New York and Atlanta and as the digital leader in Asia-Pacific, will be responsible for devising and implementing strategies to grow key audiences in the region.

CNN Digital vice-president and managing editor Andrew Demaria said, “With his combination of editorial excellence, regional experience and industry acumen, Marc is a perfect fit for CNN. His experience in co-developing news apps, growing social media traffic, and working with teams to drive new opportunities will help us realize our vision for the Asia-Pacific region.”

The channel is significantly increasing its global footprint by creating an additional 200 jobs plus enhancing its products and technologies with a specific focus on mobile and video. This unprecedented growth follows other recent digital investments including the global expansion of CNNMoney, the amplification of CNN Politics, the launch of CNN Style, and the creation of the socially distributed video network Great Big Story.

Before joining CNN, Lourdes worked at Yahoo for five years as the editor in chief based in Singapore.