Jason Del Rey

Recent Posts by Jason Del Rey

Square Poaches Facebook Ad Product Director Gokul Rajaram to Lead Product Engineering

Square has hired Gokul Rajaram, Facebook’s director of ad products, as its product engineering lead, the company announced today.

Rajaram will oversee software development for the company’s point-of-sale system, Square Register, among other products.

At Facebook, Rajaram was a core part of the advertising team, charged with developing new ad products and overseeing projects such as the integration of Atlas Solutions, which was purchased from Microsoft.

Mike Hudack, who worked under Rajaram at Facebook, will take over as the head of ad product management, people familiar with the matter said. The former Blip CEO and founder had been primarily focused on the measurement of Facebook ad effectiveness.

Rajaram was the co-founder of Chai Labs, which was acquired by Facebook in 2010. Rajaram also previously worked at Google, where he was dubbed the “godfather” of AdSense.

“I’ve been fortunate to work for two mission-driven, world-changing companies, and Square’s vision and passion for helping businesses grow is inspiring,” he said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to join the team and help build amazing products that drive economic growth and empower local businesses around the world.”

The last few months have seen Square both lose and restock its executive ranks. In January, COO Keith Rabois departed after allegations of personal misconduct, which he denied publicly. The company also lost its head of international, Alyssa Cutright, as well as its partnerships lead, before he even officially started working.

But the company has also made some strong recent hires, including high-powered ex-Googler Francoise Brougher as its business lead.

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I’m a giant vat of creative juices.

— David Pogue on why he’s joining Yahoo