Grab hires SoftBank exec as president

Screengrab from Ming Maa’s YouTube.

A prominent deal maker from Japan’s SoftBank has joined ride-hailing startup Grab as its new president.

Grab announced today it appointed Ming Maa, who will “primarily be responsible for driving corporate development activities, including strategic partnerships and investment opportunities, developing and executing on new market strategies, managing the company’s overall capital structure, and other corporate activities.”

With over 12 years of finance and investment experience, Ming was previously based in Tokyo, where he oversaw SoftBank’s investments in various companies – including Grab.

SoftBank is Grab’s largest investor, having led its US$250 million series D round in April 2015 and last month’s US$750 million series F.

Grab boss Antony Tan is overseeing the startup’s bloody battle against Uber. Photo credit: Grab.

“Ming is incredibly strategic, and his insights from over a decade of investing in the US and Asia will be of tremendous value as we continue to extend Grab’s market leadership across Southeast Asia,” Grab co-founder and CEO Anthony Tan says in a statement.

“I am delighted to join the highly talented Grab team, and am excited to leverage my experience, in ecommerce and rideshare, to build on Grab’s success, as we create the next-generation mobile ecosystem in Southeast Asia,” adds Ming.

Prior to joining SoftBank, Ming was a principal at Ancora Capital Management in Jakarta and vice president at Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division.

Grab offers car, motorbike, and taxi hailing services in 31 cities across six countries in Southeast Asia, where it has over 400,000 drivers. The company is reportedly valued at over US$3 billion.

It’s in an intense battle with Uber, which in August sold its China business to Didi Chuxing (formerly Didi Kuaidi) – also an investor of Grab.