Fastly names Rachel Ler VP to drive Asia expansion

Fastly has appointed Rachel Ler as Area Vice President of Asia, expanding its regional leadership across ASEAN, Greater China, and South Korea.

The new role gives Ler responsibility for Fastly's business across multiple markets in Asia. Fastly said Ler will oversee growth plans and work across customer and partner relationships in the region.

Fastly said the remit covers ASEAN countries, the Greater China region, and South Korea. The company described the position as newly expanded.

Regional focus

Fastly operates an edge cloud platform. The company positions the technology around delivery, security, compute, and observability services for online applications.

Fastly said it continues to invest in leadership in Asia. The company framed the appointment as part of a wider strategy that includes international expansion and work on what it described as edge cloud innovation and AI-ready infrastructure.

Fastly also listed a set of markets where it expects the appointment to have an impact. These include Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, and the Greater China region.

Executive background

Ler has more than 20 years of experience in enterprise technology roles across Asia Pacific, according to Fastly. The company said she has held senior posts at Commvault and Versa Networks.

Fastly said Ler has led teams across APAC markets. It said she has worked on go-to-market execution and partner ecosystems.

Nicola Gerber, Vice President for Asia Pacific and Japan at Fastly, said the company views the region as strategically important.

"The Asia region is one of the most diverse and dynamic markets in the world, spanning ASEAN countries, South Korea, and the Greater China region," said Nicola Gerber, Vice President for Asia Pacific and Japan at Fastly. "Having Rachel onboard - with her expansive experience and deep understanding of customers across these markets - reinforces Fastly's commitment to deliver the Fastly experience even closer to our customers. Market localisation and serving customers with true regional proximity are critical pillars of our APJ expansion strategy. With Rachel's extensive insight into the customer and partner landscape, along with her proven ability to build and lead high-performing teams, I'm incredibly excited about the opportunity for her to drive progress for the region."

Fastly said Ler will report into the company's Asia Pacific and Japan leadership structure and work with its global leadership team. The company also linked the appointment to a focus on local expertise and customer proximity in Asia.

Customer agenda

Fastly said the company's regional work includes engagement with customers on modernising digital platforms. It also cited application security and low-latency online experiences as areas of focus.

Fastly's platform competes in a market that includes cloud, content delivery, and security services. Vendors in the sector have placed increased emphasis on distributed infrastructure and security functions closer to users and applications.

Ler said she plans to focus on the expectations of customers across the markets in her remit.

"What excites me most about joining Fastly is its authenticity and its passion for building a faster, safer and more engaging internet. That spirit of acting with passion is something I connect with deeply. Across ASEAN, Greater China, and South Korea, digital expectations are rising fast, and customers need a partner who cares as much as they do about delivering meaningful, secure and high-performance online experiences. I'm energised by the opportunity to bring Fastly's engineering strength and customer-focused mindset to this dynamic region and to make a real impact together," said Ler.

Fastly said Ler's appointment forms part of its ongoing expansion across Asian markets and its push for deeper engagement with customers and partners across the region.