Instagram Hires New Ad Chief

Instagram is ready to make some money.

Facebook Regional Director James Quarles has been tapped as Instagram’s new Global Head of Business and Brand Development, according to a Facebook spokesperson.

Quarles will oversee Instagram’s revenue strategy, including its advertising and sales efforts. He will report directly to Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom, and will manage both the marketing and sales teams.

The position is a new one for Instagram, a sign that the company is most likely pushing forward with additional plans to generate revenue. It may also add more structure to the company’s existing ad efforts, which had been divvied up among a handful of Instagram employees, including Jim Squires, director of market operations, and Matt Jacobson, head of market development.

Instagram already offers advertisements in user feeds, but works carefully with brands to ensure ads don’t feel out of place on the platform. Instagram enforces a number of ad rules to protect the quality of its feed, including no text overlays on ad images and no repurposed images, according to Business Insider. It’s a system that keeps ads from sticking out like a sore thumb, but isn’t necessarily scalable.

Quarles will also work to develop new “monetization products,” according to a spokesperson, but it’s unclear what those might look like.

Quarles has a long history working with brands and advertisers. Before taking the job at Instagram, he spent three years in Facebook’s London office managing some of the company’s largest brand accounts and partnerships. He also spent more than six years as a marketing director with Dell before joining Facebook in 2011.

He’ll take up his new post with Instagram this fall.