Pinterest appoints new vice president of international enterprise sales

Pinterest, the visual discovery engine, has appointed former X (Twitter) executive Greg Owens as vice president of international enterprise sales to drive global growth across EMEA, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific.

Based in Dublin, Owens will report to Lee Brown, Pinterest’s chief business officer, who joined earlier this year to oversee the company’s global monetisation strategy. Owen has been brought on to focus on accelerating revenue from international markets, which currently only represent 25 percent of Pinterest’s total revenue despite more than 80 percent of its active monthly users being based outside of North America.

In its most recent quarterly earnings, Pinterest shared that it has seen 10 quarters of consecutive double-digit user growth, contributing to 631 million global monthly users, with international markets driving revenue growth of 27 percent year-over-year for Europe and 59 percent year-over-year for the rest of the world.

Pinterest believes that there is a "significant growth opportunity" to drive global growth as the company scales its full-funnel advertising platform and shopping capabilities globally.

Commenting on the appointment, Brown said in a statement: “Over the past several quarters, our international business has proven that Pinterest's value proposition resonates far beyond the US market.

“To truly unlock this growth, we need world-class leadership, and Greg’s combination of commercial rigour and international operating experience is exactly what we need for this next chapter."

Owens added: "Pinterest is continuing to establish itself as a leading visual search and discovery platform, particularly for a new generation of users. What energises me most about this role is the opportunity to scale the platform’s monetisation across global markets while helping millions of people find inspiration and take action.

“I look forward to working with Lee and the entire team to deepen our relationships with international partners and unlock the platform's full potential for brands worldwide."