Travel Far - Sarah Rodriguez

Country Manager, Waze Philippines

- Demai G. Sunio-Granali

You’ve probably heard of Adora, the female voice on the Waze app that gives driving routes in Tagalog. But she’s not the only “woman” helping Filipinos get to their destinations quicker and safer.

Behind the wheels of (probably) the most popular navigation app in the country is a woman. Her name is Sarah Rodriguez, the newly appointed country manager of Waze in the Philippines. A long-time rockstar in the digital marketing industry, she vows to bring her spunky ideas and go-get-it attitude to make driving trips a little easier with the help of technology.

Tell us about your career journey. What were you doing before you were appointed as country manager of Waze Philippines?

I have always been an advocate of digital marketing. I worked as part of both the marketing and business development teams in different digital production and publishing companies. With more than 10 years of experience in digital marketing, you can imagine how much I’ve seen the industry grow and evolve. Before joining Waze, I was with ABS-CBN as Head of Digital Sales.

What’s it like working at Waze?

It has been my dream to be part of Google! Waze was acquired by Google in 2013, but Filipinos have been using the app way before that. Joining Waze as Country Manager is not just a job but a responsibility to help our community outsmart traffic and improve mobility, given the traffic challenges that we are facing right now. Through data analysis and strategic partnerships under our Connected Citizens Program, we aim to empower municipalities with effective solutions to build smarter, more efficient cities.