QYOU Media hires ex-TikTok country manager Raj Mishra to head Indian operations

Raj Mishra (Source: QYOU Media)

QYOU Media India has named former TikTok country manager Raj Mishra as chief executive officer of QYOU Media’s India operations.

Mishra who was appointed to QYOU Media’s board of director on May 30, will be tasked to oversee all business units with immediate effect. He will focus on increasing operational and financial synergies and strengths among the three primary business units as the company further pivots in India into digital distribution and direct to consumer initiatives.

He joined Musical.ly in India (now TikTok) in 2016 as the first employee, where it went on to reach over 60 million monthly active users. Under his leadership, Musical.ly became the most downloaded app on Android and iOS app stores. He subsequently oversaw the rebranding transition from Musical.ly to TikTok after its acquisition in 2017, with the company going on to achieve 610 million downloads in India in less than three years.

In 2019, he moved to ByteDance where he was spearheaded strategy for their newly launched suite of products, including the app Helo while closely working with the core global teams at ByteDance to help further strengthen their overall Go-to-Market strategy. He later joined Triller in 2020 as the country GM and India head and most recently was consulting for a number of digital and gaming companies including QYOU’s India business units.

QYOU Media CEO and co-founder, Curt Marvis said, “We are thrilled to have Raj on board to direct the next phase of growth for our businesses in India. Working with him as a consultant to QYOU India over the last several months, it became clear to me and the Board that his skill set and experience were directly applicable to our overall business objective to become a larger brand with more direct to consumer initiatives in India.  This includes our most recent launch of the new freemium version of Q GamesMela. In addition, Raj’s understanding and knowledge of how the creator economy works, as a result of his roles at both Musical.ly and TikTok are invaluable for us as we build a creator centric brand and business. ”

Speaking on the appointment, Raj Mishra added, “I joined the board of QYOU Media because I was excited about the size and scope of the opportunity for which they have already built the foundation. In working directly with the business since that time, I now know that the potential is even greater than I had first realized.  There is a tremendous amount of hard work, coordination and execution ahead and we have only scratched the surface of what is possible for QYOU. I have shared with Curt and the Board my thoughts on how I see the business unfolding and expanding in the coming years.  I can’t wait to get deeper into working with the executive management and employees at all the business units and to help QYOU raise the India business to a level of success we all know is possible.”