AdRoll, the world’s largest retargeting platform, has opened a regional hub in Sydney.

The local head office follows a year of growth for AdRoll, including 500 per cent advertiser growth in Australia and 565 per cent overall growth across APAC.

To drive the Australian expansion, AdRoll has appointed Australian digital pioneer, Ben Sharp, as MD.

Sharp has 15 years experience in building and leading digital media businesses, most recently as GM of Vizury. Prior to this, he was the co-founder and commercial director of Allure Media and has also spent six years at Yahoo.

Aaron Bell, CEO of AdRoll said over the past year Australia has exploded into one of the fastest growing markets with strong demand from advertisers and agencies.

“Establishing a local hub will allow us to provide the best support for our growing Australian customer base. Ben is one of Australia’s most experienced digital leaders with deep knowledge of the local landscape and strong relationships with agencies and brands. We’re excited to build out the AdRoll organisation around him,” said Bell.

The Australian Opportunity

The shift towards e-commerce by Australian retailers combined with high smartphone penetration and the trend towards performance driven marketing means the appetite to create personalised online marketing campaigns continues to grow.

AdRoll already has a strong Australian client base, with 500 customers across all verticals including Appliances Online, Beginning Boutique, Clinique AU, MarketHQ, Nitro, Vend, and Vistaprint NZ, as well as agencies including We Are Balance.

To accommodate the demand from advertisers AdRoll will employ more than 20 Australian staff across marketing, direct sales, inside sales, account management and back office. The team has taken up residence in the Plaza Building in Australia Square in Sydney.

Sydney is the second international office for AdRoll following the opening of its European operation in Dublin in October 2013.