Waze Bolsters Commitment to Southeast Asia, Establishes Country Manager for PH

Waze, the world's largest community-based mobility app and a Google company, has further committed to enhance experience with its updated features and putting up partnerships to lessen traffic woes locally by appointing Sarah Rodriguez as country manager for the Philippines.

KK Kumar, Waze APAC regional manager expressed confidence on the recent appointment of Rodriguez. Before joining Waze, Rodriguez was the Head of Digital Sales for the Digital Media Division of ABS-CBN. Prior to that, she was the Digital Solutions Manager for Yahoo Philippines.

"Sarah's 11 years of experience in marketing and brand development are already an asset as we continue to grow our business from the Manila office. The Philippines is an important market to Waze and we see a golden opportunity to further deepen our presence with strategic partnerships with the government and the private sector under her leadership," said Kumar.

Aside from business development for Waze, Rodriguez will also be responsible for brokering partnerships with both public and private agencies and institutions as part of the Connected Citizens Program (CCP).

CCP empowers partners to harness real-time driver insights to improve congestion and make better planning decisions. In Manila, Waze is already in partnership with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to provide data to create better routes, provide wider coverage of incidents, and support public outreach to promote safer driving conditions for citizens.

For her part, Rodriguez was elated to join the company. "The opportunity to be part of an organization that promotes community engagement to solve daily issues on traffic management and driving experience is a privilege. I'm delighted to be part of Waze's journey in the Philippines to bring technology that can make a meaningful impact in people’s lives," she said.

Waze is also committed to bringing the most helpful features to drivers in the Philippines. With the real-time map data, users can see alternative routes helping them to get to their destinations on time. The real-time updates keep drivers informed of traffic jams, accidents and construction to avoid for safer and on-time trips.

Rodriguez will be engaging with the Waze community throughout the Philippines to understand what they need most when on the road. She will also be working closely with brands to help them reach new audiences through advertising on Waze.