Learn From Leaders with Ronen Mense

Ronen Mense

President & Managing Director, AppsFlyer

Unlocking growth opportunities in Asia Pacific is what I do. 3 generations in Asia, my Western roots and Eastern upbringing are catalysts for my passion, facilitating market entry and adoption for companies entering this complex landscape.

In 2005, I recognized mobile devices would change the digital landscape and shifted my focus to what was then a fledgling market. For the past 15 years my emphasis has continued to be on mobile internet, AdTech, and MarTech, further growing my passion for the domain.

I am currently President & Managing Director at AppsFlyer, as the first global hire I grew the business from new comer to market leader in APAC achieving 70% market share, triple digit revenue growth year on year, building an amazing team of 175+ across 7 offices in the region.

I founded two start-ups, one was an acquihire the other shut down (I know how to fail!). I’m also an active mentor, investor, industry thought leader, and public speaker.

Routine, planning my day and week as best I can, making sure that I am syncing with my team early in the week so that we are all aligned on the most critical projects. Also, blocking time to work on my most important tasks I know I need to do.

To succeed, you need a good idea, sufficient resources, timing, a bit of luck, a lot of focus, and most importantly, grit. You can’t give up, there will be setbacks, but you can’t give up midway, you need to see through that path towards your desired output. 

Find something you are passionate about, I know this sounds a little passé now, but work will become your life, you better love what you do. I’ve always been fascinated with mobile. Back in high school, the first stock I “invested” in (through a simulation game) was Motorola’s. My first mobile phone was an OKI 900. I was that guy in 2005 saying that mobile was going to take over the world – and I was sure of it then – and somehow 15 years later, my passion is still in this device, which has become an undetachable extension of everyone’s hand.   

Oh boy, where do I start? I’ve changed my mind about many things as I progressed from selling milk powder in China to exporting motorcycles to manufacturing candies to getting into mobile. One thing that never changes is no matter the work I do; my core principles are intact: integrity, discipline, respect, servitude, and cadence.

Be coachable. I am lucky to be working with so many talented people of every age and background, and somehow, they are much smarter than I am. Every now and then, I like to offer some feedback based on my experiences over the years. My hope is they will feel like they can do the same with me. We always need to work towards reaching that better version of ourselves as we grow, make mistakes, learn, and progress.