Perth, Oct 30: Roblox has appointed Malaysian tech entrepreneur Joel Neoh as its Managing Director for Southeast Asia and Oceania, making him the gaming platform’s most senior business leader in the two regions.
Neoh, who joined the company this month, will oversee Roblox’s regional strategy, build partnerships and work with local teams to adapt the company’s global product and business priorities to local markets.
A key part of his role will be growing the region’s community of Roblox developers and creators. He will help local studios use the platform’s tools to scale up and earn revenue, and build awareness of the brand among players and parents.
Roblox sees the region as a major long-term growth opportunity, pointing to its young, digitally native population and fast-changing digital landscape, where online safety is a growing priority.
“I’ve spent my career building companies across this region, and I’ve seen first-hand the creativity, optimism and entrepreneurial energy here,” Neoh said.
He said technology was making it easier for people to move from consuming digital experiences to creating them, and that Roblox could help a new generation of creators “turn ideas into experiences, communities and businesses that can reach the world”.
Neoh added that keeping young people safe, and working closely with parents, regulators and local communities, would remain central to the company’s growth in the region.
Zhen Fang, Roblox’s Vice President of International, said Southeast Asia and Oceania were important markets within Asia Pacific, and that the company was committed to investing in local teams, creators and partners for the long term.
“Joel has built and scaled businesses across the region for two decades and his entrepreneurial experience and strong ties to the local tech ecosystem make him the right leader to guide the next phase of our growth,” Fang said.
Neoh has spent 20 years founding and scaling technology companies across Asia Pacific, in digital media, e-commerce, fintech, consumer health and AI.
He founded GroupsMore in Malaysia, which merged with Groupon ahead of its IPO, and went on to lead Groupon Asia Pacific. He later founded Fave, a Southeast Asian fintech and consumer payments platform that grew to more than 10 million users before Pine Labs acquired it in 2021.
Most recently, he was Managing Director at Prenetics, where he led its consumer health businesses, and he was involved in launching IM8 as an investor.
An active angel investor, Neoh has backed more than 50 startups across Asia, mostly in consumer technology. He is also a Founding Partner of First Move, an early-stage venture capital platform for Southeast Asian entrepreneurs.
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