Nishant Rao is the new India head of LinkedIn

BANGALORE, INDIA: LinkedIn has got a new country manager for India in Nishant K Rao. Rao, who is not new to LinkedIn, will replace Hari Krishnan who has been moved to larger role as managing director of Asia Pacific and Japan.

"My expertise is in sales and go-to-market strategy coupled with relevant experience in various other aspects of business-building including strategy development, business operations, business development, R&D, product management and lean operations / customer support," Rao writes on his LinkedIn page.

With over 18 million users in India, LinkedIn has established its presence as a professional networking site. Till now, Rao was director, business operations and head of global sales strategy at LinkedIn. With over 10 years experience across verticals, Arora is expected to bring in his expertise in marketing and international business.

On his appointment as country manager, Rao said: "With a member base of 18 million professionals, India is one of our fastest growing markets and the largest outside of the US. Indian marketers and recruiters are fast realising the potential of LinkedIn's affluent member base and are leveraging the platform for targeted and thought leadership-oriented campaigns. I am excited about the opportunity to work with the LinkedIn India team to serve our customers and members in India."

Rao, who has over 500+ connections on LinkedIn, says: "Known for my collaborative work-style, innovative problem solving and team-first orientation, I am passionate about people development and look for every opportunity to continue to develop myself while also actively contributing to mentoring others around me." 

Rao has been with LinkedIn since September, 2011 and has under his belt 10 years of experience in sales, strategy management and entrepreneurship. He has been associated with McKinsey and ARIBA Inc. and was also one of the founding members of Epicentre Technologies, one of the first call centres in India.