Grab appoints former Hooq exec Linda Hoglund as CFO

• CFO hire strengthens its financial planning and internal controls
• Female leaders now make up half of Grab’s management team

SINGAPORE-headquartered regional ride-hailing startup Grab has announced the appointment of Linda Hoglund (pic) as chief financial officer (CFO).
 
Based in Singapore, she will strengthen Grab’s various finance functions as it scales and launches new services across South-East Asia, the company said in a statement.
 
Hoglund has a long background in finance and has held the CFO position in high growth companies as well as multinationals, according to Grab.
 
This includes Klarna, an international online payments and e-commerce service provider; Hooq, the online video streaming joint venture between Singtel and Warner Bros.; and Electronic Arts, one of the largest game publishers worldwide.
 
She started her career at Goldman Sachs in London, and has deep sector expertise in the Internet and mobile industries, Grab said in its statement.
 
She has led international finance teams to improve monetisation and profitability, implement operational projects, strengthen internal controls, and oversee M&A (merger and acquisition) activities.
 
“Linda [Hoglund] will strengthen various finance functions as Grab continues to grow rapidly and expand into new services, such as GrabFood, GrabExpress and GrabHitch,” said cofounder and chief executive officer Anthony Tan.
 
“Her role encompasses financial planning and analytics, financial accounting, internal audit, treasury, as well as corporate finance and development.
 
“With nearly 20 years of finance experience in technology and digital sectors, she will work closely with the Grab management team to align our business and finance strategies for continued market leadership in South-East Asia,” he added.
 
Grab said Hoglund’s appointment also underlines its commitment to hire top talent as it continues to grow its leadership position in the region.
 
The Malaysian-founded startup, previously known as GrabTaxi, also noted that women now make up half of its key leadership team. Others include cofounder Tan Hooi Ling; marketing vice president Cheryl Goh; public affairs vice president Nina Teng; people ops vice president Ong Chin Yin; and GrabBike regional head Adelene Foo.
 
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