Facebook Beefs Up Aussie Business

Social networking giant Facebook is beefing up its Australia operations by hiring a head for its business development. Liam Walsh has been formally announced as the new Commercial Development and Sales head for Facebook Australia.

Walsh will be responsible for running the day-to-day operations of Facebook Australia. Before joining Facebook in June 2011, he worked for Microsoft’s advertising division for three years. He was also publisher of Fairfax Media’s Sydney Herald.

Facebook has seen significant gains in Australia in the last year and a half. Small, medium and large businesses have turned to Facebook to beef up their marketing efforts.

The social networking site has more than 11 million active users in Australia. The number is higher by 15 percent from the March 2011 data.

And while Walsh has been appointed to his current post, industry sources say Facebook might appoint a permanent regional head later this year.

According to Erik Johnson, the company is looking for someone to head the Australia and New Zealand operations. Johnson is Facebook Asia Pacific vice president. He added that the candidate would also need to have experience in social media and government.

Facebook Australia is also affected by the company’s performance in the US. Despite the highly anticipated initial public offering in May, Facebook’s shares continue to be lackluster.