Snap Poaches YouTube’s Francis Roberts To Oversee Relations With Digital Creators

Snap has poached YouTube vet Francis Roberts, who has long served as a strategic partner manager for top creators, working in tandem with some of the Google-owned video giant’s biggest stars, including Liza Koshy, The Try Guys, and Jackie Aina.

Roberts has been named Snap’s senior manager of digital talent, Variety reports, starting on May 18 and based out of the company’s Los Angeles headquarters, reporting to head of talent partnerships, Jim Shepherd. In his new role, Roberts will oversee Snap’s relationships with digital-native talent, and also hone content collaborations, including Snapcht’s Creator Shows and Snap Originals formats. Roberts will also work with talent on community features, including Snapchat’s Q&A-like Snap Me

“We are thrilled to welcome Francis as a member of our talent partnerships team,” Shepherd said in a statement, per Variety. “His experience working with top creators and his relationships in the industry will greatly contribute to our mission of delivering even more compelling opportunities to creators on Snapchat in 2020 and beyond.”

Prior to joining Snap, Roberts was at Google for eight years, rising to principal analytical lead in Google’s large-customer sales division before joining YouTube in 2017.