Speakers
JOY BAER
PRESIDENT
STRATA
Joy Baer serves as the president of Strata, a Comcast company. Joy has 25 years of enterprise software experience, and many years of software and management consulting expertise with Fortune 500 and large media companies nationwide.
Previously, Joy served as executive vice president and chief operating officer at Strata, overseeing operations for all of Strata’s business lines and guided the development of media buying/selling platforms that incorporate the most advanced technologies in the industry. Under her leadership, Strata has experienced over 10% annual revenue growth and has grown to 300 employees worldwide.
Prior to joining Strata, Joy was CEO of SpotBuySpot (SBS was purchased by Strata in 2007). During her tenure, SBS’s revenues increased 224% in four years as she directed new business and enterprise-scale software development initiatives. Now the Custom Division at Strata, SBS continues to be the industry leader in e-Business, research, business and financial solutions for media companies.
Joy earned her BSc in Information Systems from Drake University. She is also a member of the International Women’s Forum (IWF) and the Economic Club of Chicago.
JULIAN BARING
PRESIDENT, AMERICAS
ADFORM
Julian Baring is Adform’s general manager of the Americas, based in New York and has over 20 years digital media experience. He started his career in agencies at BBDO and Saatchi & Saatchi before co-founding travel-site Weekends.com and riding the .com wave all the way to the bottom. Julian has lived and worked across the UK, US and APAC in senior executive roles at Vodafone, Operative, Facilitate Digital, and most recently Adslot. He has an MBA from Oxford University and a BA in History from Brown University.
HOLDEN BERLIN
SVP, INTEGRATED MARKETING
DEFY MEDIA
Holden Berlin is senior vice president,, integrated marketing for DEFY Media, home to top digital media networks that create regularly scheduled and award-winning programming for Millennial and Gen Z audiences. Holden leads the strategic development of franchise content programs across the company’s portfolio of top ranked brands. DEFY’s premier brands - SMOSH, Clevver, ScreenJunkies, AWEme, Made Man - have forged deep connections with an audience of more than 110 million followers on YouTube and the world’s largest social platforms combined, driving more than 800MM total video views each month and with content that can be seen across more than twenty-five OTT and streaming video platforms.
Holden also guides the company’s sales focused marketing efforts, working to build innovative custom campaigns for a wide range of clients across all consumer categories. This includes championing DEFY’s efforts for bringing brands and influential talent together on projects to deliver a high ROI for partner’s objectives. He has worked on branded campaigns with a wide range of clients including Wrigley’s 5 Gum, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Samsung, Pizza Hut, Ubisoft, among others. Previously, Holden served as Vice President, Digital Sales Marketing for NBC Sports & Olympics where he led all sales marketing efforts across the network’s sports portfolio.
HEATHER BLANK
GM, AUDIENCES
MEDIAMATH
Heather Blank is a seasoned digital marketer with over 20 years of experience in ad tech, email and database marketing. She joined MediaMath in January of 2016 to lead the Audience team. She is responsible for the company’s data strategy including activation of proprietary assets and curating high quality external data. She leads a team focused on product development of data products that drive high-performing targeting strategies. Prior to joining MediaMath she was the vice president of product and strategy at Datalogix (acquired by Oracle in April 2015).
At Datalogix she was responsible for developing data strategies for targeting and measurement across all digital channels including display, social and mobile. Prior to Datalogix, she led the strategic services team at Responsys for six years. She and her team worked with clients to improve email ROI through data-driven strategies focused on growing both online and offline revenue. Prior to joining Responsys in 2006, Heather worked on the client side and oversaw the online marketing program for Petco Animal Supplies.
MICHAEL BOLOGNA
PRESIDENT
ONE2ONE MEDIA
Michael Bologna is the President of one2one Media, a highly specialized, independent entity that offers agencies and advertisers a turnkey solution to addressable video. Bolonga is a founding employee of one2one Media that launched in 2017. He is credited for creating and scaling addressable video capabilities with Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPDs) for advertisers interested in reaching specific audiences at the household level. Bologna has two decades of television experience working with more than 200 brands and successfully growing innovation and technology in the television marketplace.
Prior to one2one Media, Bologna, launched MODI Media – GroupM’s Advance Television business unit. As President of MODI Media, Bologna specialized in the strategy, implementation and analysis of multiple advanced video disciplines including Addressable TV, Hyper-local TV, Interactive TV and Digital Distribution. Earlier in his career, Bologna was Managing Partner, Director of Emerging Communications at GroupM. His primary role was to assist in the development of marketing and advertising applications for GroupM clients across all advanced television platforms. Bologna was featured on Television Week’s Hot List as one of the top 10 players in TV. He currently serves on multiple industry committees and advisory boards including the Interactive Advertising Board (iAB) and Video Advertising Board (VAB).
ARI BRANDT
CEO
RECEPTIV
Ari Brandt co-founded Receptiv (formerly known as MediaBrix), the leading mobile video ad platform connecting brands to receptive users during meaningful moments, in 2011 and serves as the company’s CEO and Chairman. He is a seasoned media executive and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience building profitable digital businesses and advertising platforms.
Over the course of his career, Ari has played a key role in launching and developing innovative brands and products for renowned media and advertising technology organizations. Before founding Receptiv, he was the CEO at Linkstorm, an advertising technology company, where he led the company through consecutive years of triple-digit growth and global expansion. He has also worked as the head of digital media for Condé Nast Business Media Group and led the launch of Portfolio.com. Prior to Conde Nast, Ari held management roles at prominent media and ad tech companies including Yahoo! and DoubleClick. He started his career working in media and account management at leading advertising agencies such as Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, Weiss Whitten Stagliano, and MVBMS/Euro RSCG.
TAL CHALOZIN
CTO & CO-FOUNDER
INNOVID
Tal Chalozin is co-founder and CTO of Innovid, the world’s leading video advertising platform that empowers advertisers to create, deliver, and measure video experiences on any device. Tal leads Innovid’s long term Technology vision and is responsible for global technology development and implementation, product creation, business development and partnership activities. Tal’s guidance has led Innovid to partner with companies such as Snapchat, Facebook, Roku, Samsung, SKY and Hulu to help advertisers bring interactive video to any consumer device.
Prior to Innovid, Tal co-founded GarageGeeks, a non-profit organization and one of Israel’s largest hacker spaces and innovation hubs with more than 8,000 members. Tal also served as an officer in an elite computer unit in the Israeli Air Force for over eight years where he led the development of several military products with high algorithmic complexity. Tal presently serves as a board member for the IAB’s Digital Video Center of Excellence, and a technical academy Member for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences who grants the prestigious EMMY award. He was named a "Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum and as one of the “Best Young European Entrepreneurs” by BusinessWeek.
HAL CHARNLEY
PRESIDENT
WISER SOLUTIONS
Hal Charnley is now the President of Wiser Solutions, the product of the merger of Mobee and Quad Analytix. Hal was previously the President/CEO of Mobee, a Boston-based company providing the largest brands and retailers with actionable insights and data collected via its innovative mobile platform and mobile-enabled user base. He has over two decades of experience as a CEO leading high-growth technology companies through the expansion stage. This includes extensive experience as an executive in the Retail, Enterprise SaaS, Network Security, and Telecom markets. He has extensive experience in strategic transactions having been involved in over a dozen mergers/acquisitions on both buy-side and sell-side.
Hal is a Board member of Cambridge Sound Management, the global leader in commercial sound-masking technology and holds BS, MS, and MBA degrees. He is heavily involved in the Boston tech start-up community as a mentor, advisor, board member and investor.
BING CHEN
DIGITAL MEDIA PIONEER & ENTREPRENEUR
Bing Chen is a digital media creator, entrepreneur, and pioneer. He is a founding architect of the multi-billion dollar digital influencer ecosystem as YouTube’s global head of creator development & management, where he was responsible for the global program strategy that engaged more than 500 million content creators worldwide. Bing co-founded and co-led ventures such as the global expansion and evolution of the YouTube Partner Program; the company’s flagship talent incubator, NextUp; more than a dozen major product launches including Watch Time (the guiding algorithm of the platform); YouTube’s investment in major industry engagements like VidCon (largest online video convention), the DigiTour (largest U.S. influencer festival), and YouTube FanFest (largest Asian influencer festival); and programs to elevate YouTube’s top native stars to superstardom.
Bing is founder of Bingdom Studios, a next generation creative studio and strategic consultancy for leading digital media companies across three continents; as well as Victorious, a premium content subscription platform that is $50 Million venture-backed by Kleiner Perkins, Redpoint Ventures, BDMI, WME, UTA, and Lowercase Capital. His work has been featured in numerous global publications and he has been recognized as one of Forbes’ Top 30 Under 30 Leaders, The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 35 Next Generation Leaders, and as an Asian Chamber of Commerce Next Gen Leader.
SCOTT CHERKIN
EVP, PRODUCT & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
COMPLEX NETWORKS
Scott Cherkin is currently executive vice president of product and business development for Complex Networks where he oversees a broad range of product and technology services that support the growth of the media company including audience development, business intelligence, publisher and influencer network (Including YouTube MCN), yield optimization and more. Prior to Complex, Cherkin was SVP, Product & Business Development at the Travel Ad Network (now Travora Media), where he led the company’s publisher network as well as product strategy, including audience targeting and lead generation.
Scott has over 20 years of experience in digital media and adtech in sales, marketing, business development and operations leadership positions at companies also including Dotomi, theglobe.com, S&H Greenpoints and Aol Greenhouse's Book Reporter. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Penn State University.
MICHAEL CONNOLLY
CEO
SONOBI
Michael Connolly, co-founded Sonobi in 2012 to deliver his vision for the future of ad tech. Today, Sonobi is the leading technology provider of people-based marketing solutions, which enable media transactions against individuals in ways that are relevant, predictable, and measurable. A serial entrepreneur, Michael has a strong background delivering innovative solutions for digital advertisers and publishers. In 2009, he and future Sonobi CTO Nathanial Thomas created Digital Tech Publishing, a software company specializing in online web applications. DTP was generating over 30 million unique visitors and 1.5 billion ad impressions per month before being acquired in 2012. This success has followed him to Sonobi, where the company has over 70 employees, servicing clients in North America, EMEA, and Australia.
As an ARMY officer and military aviator, Michael served as a Battle Captain in the Army during the Iraq War. A 2016 finalist for Ernst and Young’s prestigious entrepreneur of the year, Michael has also been recognized as one of Florida’s most successful young executives under 40 by the Orlando Business Journal. While in service, he was awarded the Air Medal for Meritorious Service in Combat. He holds a B.A. in Business Administration and Philosophy from State University of New York at Albany.
KRISTEN DEUBEL
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
SHAZAM
Kristen is a music & media industry veteran starting her career at Viacom, working in the VH1 & MTV Advertising and Operations divisions. Moving into a strategic Marketing role at Music Choice she launched first to market Digital Audio, Video On Demand, and iTV advertising opportunities. This included interactive content & sponsorship integration in the award winning on demand show Certified, allowing viewers to ‘vote with their remote.’
Kristen has remained at the forefront of music and technology with her current role at Shazam, the world’s leading music recognition app. At Shazam, Kristen oversees Partner, B2B & Consumer Marketing efforts including sponsor presence at Cannes Lions & SXSW.
Recently launched Shazam marketing initiatives include Shazam for Brands, Shazam Verified Artist Accounts, Shazam Visual & Augmented Reality, and BEAT SHAZAM on FOX featuring host Jamie Foxx.
PATRICK DIGNAN
US DIRECTOR, PROGRAMMATIC SALES
THE DAILYMAIL
Pat Dignan has spent his career developing sales teams through creativity, innovation and empowerment. He has worked with many established brands including Newsweek, Forbes, Forbes.com, Inc. Saveur, Nasdaq.com and The Street.com over his career both in print and started in digital media in 2004. Currently working as the US director of programmatic sales for the DailyMail, he has established the DailyMail private marketplace strategy. He works with supply side platforms ADX, Index Exchange, OpenX, Rubicon and Sonobi to develop revenue partnerships. Pat also works with Demand side platforms Double Click Bid Manager, The Trade Desk, Adobe (TubeMogul), MediaMath and others as well as most of the agency trading desks in the US to sell the value of the DailyMail brand.
Pat graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor of Science degree.
CHARLES FALLON
PARTNER
SI PARTNERS
Charles leads SI Partners’ global consultancy practice. With over 30 years’ experience, Charles has worked in leadership roles across a number of sectors including publishing, advertising and digital start-ups. Charles’ career includes over a decade at Saatchi & Saatchi where he was responsible for global technology clients as well as launching Saatchi Interactive, one of the UK’s first digital agencies. Working across a broad spectrum of businesses, Charles has particular expertise in working with digital and technology businesses where he advises entrepreneurs on the development of disruptive business models and the evaluation of strategic options for the future. Charles often works with SI Partners’ clients on long-term consultancy projects, developing strategies for growth and performance improvement, as well as building cohesive leadership teams. Charles also regularly speaks at industry events and facilitates global conferences. Past speaking engagements include: delivering training sessions on creating value and maximizing revenue as part of the IPA’s Business Leadership program, chairing a panel discussion at Advertising Week Europe, Creative Challengers, and Advertising Week New York, Man Hugs & Beards: are contemporary cultures just fashion or serious ROI, in addition to facilitating a global conference on innovation in the communications sector, Innovate or Die, Hong Kong.
JOHN FITZPATRICK
CO-FOUNDER & CEO
FORCE MARKETING
John Fitzpatrick co-founded Force Marketing in 2007, and since then, has led the company to become the leading provider of ROI-driven and tech-enabled multi-channel automotive marketing services to clients throughout North America. Its clients include large dealer groups, Tier II ad associations and OEMs. Today, he leads a team of more than 100 marketing professionals in Force Marketing’s Atlanta headquarters. For the past seven consecutive years, Force Marketing has earned a spot on the Inc. magazine 500|5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. Other accolades include the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Pacesetter Award in 2012, 2014 and 2015; a spot on the list of the 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work For in Atlanta in 2014 and 2015; a spot on the list of the Best & Brightest Companies to Work For in the U.S. in 2015, and a spot on the Gator 100 list of fastest-growing companies led by graduates of the University of Florida in 2015 and 2016. In 2013, he also founded Fitzpatrick Realty Group, through which he invests in property in the Atlanta area. The Group purchased the 44,000-sq.-ft. building in the Buckhead area of Atlanta in which Force Marketing currently resides.
FIELD GARTHWAITE
CO-FOUNDER & CEO
IRIS.TV
Field Garthwaite is the co-founder and CEO of IRIS.TV, the leading personalization and video programming platform. Since inventing the core technology behind IRIS.TV in 2010, Field has led the company to provide video publishers with software and lightweight APIs that enable them to personalize the streaming video experience based on users’ preferences and behavior across all platforms and devices.
His background in media and entertainment lends unique insight into the challenges facing the industry and how to better manage and monetize digital distribution. IRIS.TV’s product suite is used by hundreds of publishers and broadcasters globally, including Time Inc., CBS, Telepictures, Tribune, Hearst, The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard.
ERIC GERTLER
CO-CHAIRMAN, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT; CEO, ULYSSES VENTURES
Eric Gertler currently serves as co-chairman of U.S.News & World Report, the nation’s leading news authority on rankings and expert guidance on life decisions; and CEO of Ulysses Ventures, a multi-strategy investment fund that invests in both early and growth stage companies. Eric formerly served as co-chairman and co-publisher of the New York Daily News, New York’s hometown newspaper. In September 2017, Eric negotiated the sale of the New York Daily News to tronc, Inc., which operates numerous newspapers including the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. Under Eric’s leadership, the New York Daily News was honored with a Pulitzer Prize, in the category of public service journalism in 2017.
Prior to these roles, Eric served as executive vice-president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation and as managing director of the Center for Economic Transformation under both Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Mayor Bill de Blasio. In this role, he was responsible for spurring economic development through programs that promoted industry growth, with an emphasis on innovation, job creation, public-private partnerships, investment funds and industry diversification. Prior to his government service, Eric successfully led several technology and media companies. In tech, Eric served as CEO of Altruik, PrimeAxis Media, and Privista. In media, Eric has held numerous leadership positions including as President of U.S. News, Fast Company and The Atlantic.
GARETH GLASER
CO-FOUNDER & CEO
RTK.IO
Gareth Glaser serves as the co-founder and CEO of RTK.io. Prior to RTK.io, Gareth served as general manager of sales at A6 Corporation for a year. Before that, he co-founded ReachLogic Media, an automated campaign manager for mobile and display which was acquired less than a year after it was founded. Before that, Gareth was o ne of the earliest members of the sales team at AppNexus. Gareth started his career as a business development associate at Scoop St. Group Buying. He dual majored in English & Philosophy and Politics & Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, with a minor in Chinese.
JAMES GREEN
CEO
MAGNETIC
James Green is chief executive officer of Magnetic. With over 20 years of executive leadership experience across public and private companies, James has successfully lead the expansion of multiple technology firms in the digital media space. James worked with the The Walt Disney Company for eight years, eventually being named the General Manager of the Japanese market. From Disney, James moved to Pixar Animation Studios where he worked for Steve Jobs as the vice president of marketing and new business development. After leaving Pixar, James became a founding partner and CEO of Sabela Media, an Internet ad serving company that was sold to 24/7 Real Media for $70 million following an explosive 18 months of revenue growth. James stayed on at 24/7 Real Media to serve as president of technology solutions. At his next position, as CEO of GiantBear, James successfully launched new products with major carriers (Cingular, Rogers AT&T and others) before selling the business to InfoSpace. James then became CEO of PVI, a publicly traded virtual advertising company, which he took private in 2003 before it was sold to Cablevison in May of 2005. James then joined Giant Realm, a vertical ad network, as CEO in January 2007 and sold the company to Burst Media in October 2009.
WYC GROUSBECK
GOVERNOR & MANAGING PARTNER
BOSTON CELTICS
Wycliffe Grousbeck has been managing partner, governor and CEO of the Boston Celtics since December 2002, after organizing and leading a local investment group that purchased the team. Wyc is the NBA Governor of the Celtics, the Chair of the NBA Planning Committee, and is a member of the NBA Labor Relations, Finance, Compensation and Audit Committees. Wyc named the investment group "Banner 17 LLC" to signify his primary goal, returning the Celtics to contention for their 17th World Championship. He was honored to accept the championship trophy on June 17, 2008, as the Celtics defeated the Lakers by 39 points and became World Champions for the first time in 22 years.
Prior to purchasing the Celtics with his partners, Wyc served as a general partner of Highland Capital Partners, co-managing $1.8 billion in venture capital funds. He led successful investments in medical technology, software and health care services. His earlier career included four years as a venture capital lawyer in Silicon Valley and two years as a manager in a public biotech company. Wyc holds a bachelor's degree in history from Princeton University (1983), a law degree from the University of Michigan (1986) and an MBA from Stanford Business School where he was a Miller Scholar (1992).
BETTINA HEIN
CO-FOUNDER & CEO
PIXABILITY
Bettina Hein founded Pixability in 2008 to simplify digital video for marketers. Before Pixability, Bettina co-founded SVOX, the Swiss-based speech technology company which was acquired by Nuance Communications (NUAN) for $125 million. In 2014, the World Economic Forum named Bettina a Young Global Leader. In 2012, Bettina received the L’Oreal NEXT Generation Award, an entrepreneurial award that honors the top five women leading groundbreaking digital companies, and The Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40 Award.” Bettina holds an MS degree from MIT, a law degree from the University of Constance, and a business degree from the University of St. Gallen.
JUSTIN HENDRIX
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
NYC MEDIA LAB
Justin Hendrix is executive director of NYC Media Lab. Justin connects media and technology companies with New York City’s universities to drive digital media innovation and entrepreneurship. The Lab's interests range across disciplines from design to engineering, and its programs include seed projects with member companies as well as The Combine, which encourages digital media startup formation on the City’s campuses.
Previously Justin was vice-president, business development & innovation for The Economist, where he directed prototyping and commercialization of He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the College of William & Mary and a Master of Science in Technology Commercialization from the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin. Find him on Twitter: @justinhendrix.
ROB HOLLAND
COO
BLUCORE
Rob Holland is COO of Bluecore, a four-year old, 100+ employee SaaS start-up based in New York City. Bluecore’s Decisioning Platform for Commerce powers unique interactions by unifying customer and catalog data, thus empowering the world’s top retail marketing organizations to take meaningful, immediate action on data through the creation of highly targeted audiences for multi-channel use.
Rob leads Bluecore’s go-to-market team, which includes: Sales, Marketing, Customer Success and Corporate Partnerships as well as the finance team. Prior to Bluecore, Rob was GVP, General Manager of Advertiser Solutions at Oracle Data Cloud and was General Manager of the CPG business at Datalogix. Rob also had leadership positions in product management at Nielsen and financial roles at Safeway and The Clorox Company earlier in his career. Rob holds a BS in Business Administration from San Diego State University.
LUNG HUANG
GLOBAL SVP OF BUSINESS DEV
MERKLE
Lung Huang leads all partnership and data acquisitions that support initiatives in both direct marketing and digital and addressable media. As the leader of the business development team, Lung is responsible for growing the global footprint of the M1™ platform for the Dentsu Aegis Network.
Prior to joining Merkle in 2017, Lung was the head of strategic partnerships at 84.51°, where he managed client relationship development, industry engagement, and customer strategy. He also played a critical role in leading the partnership development and commercialization strategy in media, advertising, payments, and analytics globally for dunnhumby, a customer data science company. Lung has extensive experience in business development, and was formerly vice president at Arbitron Inc., an international media and marketing research firm, where he managed the sales and marketing of Arbitron products to leading global brands like Disney and ESPN. He earned his BA in Business from the University of Kansas, where he currently sits on the advisory board for the business school.
MIKE HUGHES
CEO
EXCHANGE SOLUTIONS
Mike is a seasoned executive with a proven track record of success, leading organizations through rapid growth and expansion. As a senior operations and financial executive, Mike raised over $800 million in public and private financings, built companies from early stage through large scale growth and managed several highly successful exits. Prior to his role at Exchange Solutions, Mike served as chief financial officer and operating executive for several software companies, including Vertica Systems Inc., (acquired by Hewlett-Packard). He also held executive level operating and finance positions at two telecommunications companies, both of which completed IPOs and were acquired. Mike earned his MBA in Finance from the Franklin W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College and a Bachelor’s Degree from Bentley University.
MANDY JENKINS
HEAD OF NEWS
STORYFUL
Mandy Jenkins is the Head of News at Storyful, overseeing a worldwide team of journalists who find, analyze and distribute social content and insights in collaboration with newsroom partners. Mandy was previously the managing editor for Digital First Media’s Project Thunderdome, overseeing daily operations for its national multimedia newsroom, which published to more than 200 local outlets across the U.S. Prior to that, Mandy was the social news editor for politics at The Huffington Post and the social media editor for Washington, D.C., local news startup TBD. She has also served in several roles in digital news for the Cincinnati Enquirer and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Mandy is vice president of the Online News Association and is on the board of directors for the American Society of News Editors.
HALLIE JOHNSTON
SVP OF CLIENT SERVICES & STRATEGY, REFINERY29
Hallie Johnston is a modern and creative marketing leader with over 20 years of international, regional, and local client side and agency experience across advertising, PR, brand strategy, sponsorship and experiential marketing. As SVP of Client Services and Strategy at Refinery29, Hallie guides the strategy and operations of the branded content business, with a focus on creating new revenue streams as well as overseeing the Branded Content division. Prior to Refinery29, Hallie spent seven years at different IPG agencies; including working as vice president, group account director at Momentum Worldwide (IPG), where she led the American Express account across their sports and entertainment sponsorship activations. Under her leadership, her team won 10 creative industry awards, including 4 Clio Awards and was named 'Experiential Agency of the Year' by the Sports Business Journal in 2014. Previously, Hallie was at McCann (IPG) for 5 years based in London, in a dual role as chief of staff to the EMEA/APAC CEO and also as vice president, marketing communications. Hallie is a graduate of Boston University, College of Communications, with a B.S. in Advertising, Public Relations, and Mass Communications.
RANA EL KALIOUBY
CO-FOUNDER & CEO
AFFECTIVA
Rana el Kaliouby, PhD, is co-founder and CEO of Affectiva, the pioneer in Emotion AI, the next frontier of Artificial Intelligence. She led the innovation of the company’s award winning, emotion recognition technology, that is built on a science platform that uses deep learning and the world’s largest emotion data repository of 4.7 million faces analyzed from 75 countries, amounting to more than 50 billion emotion data points.
Prior to founding Affectiva, as a research scientist at MIT Media Lab, Rana spearheaded the applications of emotion technology in a variety of fields, including mental health and autism research. A TED speaker, she was recognized by Entrepreneur as one of the “7 Most Powerful Women To Watch In 2014”, inducted into the “Women in Engineering” Hall of Fame, listed on Ad Age’s “40 under 40” and recipient of Smithsonian magazine's 2015 American Ingenuity Award for Technology. Rana is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Rana holds a BSc and MSc in computer science from the American University in Cairo and a PhD from the computer laboratory, University of Cambridge.
ANTHONY KATSUR
SVP PLATFORMS
NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP
Anthony Katsur is SVP of platforms at Nexstar Media Group. He owns the P&L’s for Nexstar’s myriad digital technology divisions. Nexstar owns & operates 170 television stations across the United States.
With 25 years of experience building, operating and leading innovative technology solutions, Anthony has earned a reputation for delivering exceptional products and business results across many leading ad-tech companies. As Prior to joining Nexstar, Anthony was president at Sonobi, a people-based marketing platform, where he ran global revenue, business development & marketing. He also served as global head of buyer cloud at Rubicon Project overseeing all agency, brand and DSP businesses.
Prior to Rubicon Project, Anthony was CEO of Maxifier, a campaign performance engine. He previously held the role of general manager at MediaMath where he designed and launched their omnichannel DSP (formerly known as Terminal One).
After selling an early Internet technology startup, Anthony joined DoubleClick. Over the course of almost a decade he rose through the ranks to lead multiple product, client services and engineering divisions.
An active angel investor and advisor to the internet sector, Anthony has spoken at numerous industry events including AdAge’s Brand Summit, AdMonsters & GABBCON. His thought leadership has been published in leading publications such as AdExchanger, AdWeek, MediaPost, Econsultancy, Digiday, MediaVillage and SmartCEO.
KEVIN KOHN
CEO
IQ MEDIA
Kevin Kohn is the CEO of iQ Media. He oversees iQ Media's corporate growth strategies and leads the execution of the company vision and mission across all departments. With more than 25 years of sales, marketing and business development experience in software and online technologies, he’s no stranger to playing a pivotal role in launching and growing organizations, and creating value in new markets. Prior to joining iQ Media, Kevin served as the chief revenue officer for Lotame, a leading data management platform, and as SVP & GM of General Markets at LivePerson, Inc., a market leader in real-time, intelligent customer engagement. Kevin was previously a board director with iQ Media and also sits on the board of Nanorep.
RANDALL LANE
EDITOR
FORBES MAGAZINE
Randall Lane has been the Editor of Forbes magazine since 2011, with responsibility for the editorial content that differentiates it in print. During his tenure, Forbes has reached the highest print readership in its 99-year history. He also founded and oversees the Forbes 30 Under 30 lists and the Under 30 Summit, the world’s most influential gathering of young leaders, as well as the Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy.
Previously, he co-founded and served as editor-in-chief of a half dozen magazines, including P.O.V. (Adweek’s “Startup of the Year”), Trader Monthly, and Dealmaker. Randall also served as editor-at-large at Newsweek and The Daily Beast; he started his career at Forbes, where he eventually was named Washington bureau chief. He is a frequent television commentator and the author of The Zeroes.
RICHARD LEE
CEO
NETRA
Richard is CEO of Netra, the leading Visual Intelligence SaaS company. Netra's solution helps brands & advertisers better understand and reach their targets, based on what consumers are posting in their imagery. The software analyzes photos / videos and identifies activities & interests, key life events, tribe demographics, and brand preferences - under the theory that consumers take & share pictures of what's important to them. Netra’s belief is that imagery is a completely untapped source of data for marketers that can dramatically increase the reach & effectiveness of digital advertising.
Richard's previous experience spans both early stage start-ups and large enterprise. He spent seven years at P&G (working in Innovation, Digital Marketing, and Brand Management), and five years at Shaser Bioscience (as head of Sales & Marketing - during which time it was acquired by Spectrum Brands - NYSE: SPB). Richard earned his MBA from MIT Sloan, where he met his co-founder (Shashi Kant) during joint research at the Auto-ID Lab.
MARC MALEH
GLOBAL DIRECTOR
HAVAS
Marc Maleh is global director of cognitive at Havas. Marc has over 13 years of experience in interactive and emerging technology. Prior to his current role. Marc served as vice president, managing director at R/GA, where he helped grow a team of data scientists, technologists, and creatives who built data driven platforms and campaigns for Nike, LA Dodgers, MD Anderson Cancer Research Center, Samsung and Verizon. Marc has also managed international design and technology teams in New York and Shanghai for Screampoint, working with clients that included Apple, AIG, World Trade Center Development, Hudson Yards Development and Jamba Juice. Marc has been a Judge at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity and has spoken at Fast Company Innovation Festival, Venture Beat AI Conference, NYC Media Lab, General Assembly, NYU, Parsons and Montana State University.
GREG MASON
CEO
PURCH
Greg Mason joined Purch as chief executive officer in 2012, bringing over 20 years of product development and innovation in technology media and digital publishing. Over the past several years, Greg and his team at Purch have created a digital publishing and marketplace platform that is defining the future of publishing through its unique position at the intersection of content, commerce and customer.
Purch combines high-quality content, product reviews and services with cutting-edge technology to create a seamless connection between intent-based buyers and sellers. Greg is responsible for implementing the company’s strategy of unifying content, commerce and customer, which has shepherded in accelerated growth, success and scale.
Prior to joining Purch, Greg served as executive vice president of consumer services at WebMD. Prior to that, he spent eleven years with CBS Interactive and CNET Networks where he held a variety of global operational roles, culminating in the leadership of the entire technology and news portfolio. Before his time at CNET, Greg spent a combined eleven years with Ziff Davis and International Data Group (IDG) in various publisher, sales, and sales management roles.
GILAD NEUMANN
CEO
DOGTV
Gilad Neumann co-founded DOGTV in 2011, and serves as the company’s CEO. Prior to DOGTV, Gilad was the CEO of Jasmine TV from 2008-2011, after acting as executive vice president, business development & legal affairs since 2005. Gilad started his career in the legal department of Caspi & Co. Advocates, where he then transitioned to vice president, business development & legal counsel for Baram Original Advertising. This role led Gilad to become the vice president of marketing at Tajima Corp. Gilad received his MBA with emphasis in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University, Graziadio School of Business and Management.
LINDSAY NELSON
CMO
VOX MEDIA
Lindsay Nelson is the chief marketing officer at Vox Media, the fastest growing modern media company known for its standout technology, high-fidelity advertising, and house of editorial brands that go deeper into topics passionate people care about most.
Lindsay's robust team consists of brand marketing; portfolio marketing; revenue operations; concert, the publisher-led marketplace that delivers high-fidelity advertising you can trust; and Vox Creative, Vox Media's award-winning branded content business. Named a Woman to Watch by Advertising Age with AWNY and one of the Most Powerful Women in Mobile Advertising by Business Insider, Lindsay is also known for launching Plus One, an intimate event series and influential community for female executives.
Prior to Vox Media, Lindsay served as vice president, Integrated Programs and founder of SlateCustom, the branded-content creative agency within Slate Magazine. @follow_nelson
CRAIG NEWMARK
FOUNDER
CRAIGSLIST
Craig Newmark is a web pioneer, philanthropist, and a leading advocate on behalf of trustworthy journalism, veterans and military families, and other civic and social justice causes. In 2017 he became a founding funder and executive committee member of the News Integrity Initiative, administered by the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, which seeks to advance news literacy and increase trust in journalism. In 2016 he created the Craig Newmark Foundation to promote investment in organizations that effectively serve their communities and drive broad civic engagement at the grassroots level. Amid growing concerns about the proliferation of “fake news” in the context of the presidential campaign, one of the foundation’s first donations went to the Poynter Institute to create the Craig Newmark Chair in Journalism Ethics. He is widely credited for his leadership in promoting “news we can trust.”
Craig serves on the board of directors of a range of nonprofits including Blue Star Families, Center for Public Integrity, Consumers Union/Consumer Reports, Girls Who Code, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Poynter Foundation, Sunlight Foundation, VetsInTech, and Women in Public Service Project. He also serves on the Board of Overseers of the Columbia Journalism Review. He serves on the advisory board of nearly twenty other nonprofit organizations including Donors Choose, EFF, New America Foundation, Voto Latino, Wikimedia Foundation, Women Who Tech, and many others.
JEFF NICHOLSON
CHIEF MEDIA OFFICER
VAYNERMEDIA
Jeffrey Nicholson is the chief media officer for VaynerMedia, a role in which he is responsible for all media related services (research, planning, buying), along with the advertising technology division. Jeffrey has taken the VM media department from a group of nine to nearly 200 in two years, while being blessed to work with some of the largest brands in the world, such as ABI and Chase.
Prior to VaynerMedia, Jeffrey served as the VP of advertising at SocialCode, a leading API partner in the social media space. Before moving to NYC, he held the title of VP of advertising for LeadKarma, an insurance lead aggregator. He helped to 4x the organization’s value and navigated a sale to a public company in 2013. Prior to senior leadership positions, he spent time running performance based digital media campaigns at iProspect and Avenue100.
Jeffrey believes that "executional excellence breeds strategic success". Passionate about business ethics, education and transparency, his efforts are focused on reshaping the advertising industry dynamics and helping brands take control of their success.
JASON OATES
CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER & CO-FOUNDER
LIVEINTENT
Jason Oates is LiveIntent’s Co-founder and Chief Business Officer focused on customer success, evangelizing the LiveIntent story and pioneering people-based marketing initiatives. He’s focused his career on the evolution of the digital marketplace through innovations in interactive, e-mail marketing and performance-based customer journey marketing. Prior to LiveIntent, Jason held leadership positions at Datran Media, Integrated Media Solutions, Avenue A, DMB&B, and JMCP. In his spare time, Jason loves fishing with his son and sings in the band called RIFFF (Resistance Is Futile Find Fun).
MATT O'GRADY
CEO
NIELSEN CATALINA SOLUTIONS
Matthew O’Grady is chief executive officer of Nielsen Catalina Solutions, responsible for leading strategy and driving performance and innovation for the company and its clients. He brings over 16 years of experience with Nielsen, most recently as the executive vice president and managing director for the local media business where he led strategy, development and enhancements for all local television and audio clients. Matt worked closely with industry associations including the Media Ratings Council, TVB, Radio Advertising Bureau, National Association of Broadcasters, COLTAM and COLRAM. Since joining Nielsen over a decade ago, he has had numerous executive positions within the company including executive vice president of media product leadership where he was responsible for all cross-platform audience measurement solutions including television, mobile and Internet. Prior to his current role, Matt was president of Nielsen Claritas and has previously held management positions with National Decision Systems, AT&T and the Daniel Yankelovich Group. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
ALAN OSETEK
CEO
DIGILANT
Alan Osetek is chief executive officer at Digilant, the paid media arm of ispDigital, in charge of the company’s business development and expansion worldwide. Prior to becoming the CEO at Digilant, Alan was the global president of Resolution Media overseeing the global growth of Omnicom Media Group’s search, social and digital performance media unit. A digital industry veteran, before joining Resolution Alan was the Managing Director of iProspect/Aegis, responsible for overseeing all activities for iProspect’s east coast operations. Prior to joining iProspect in 2008, Alan served as a Board Member and chief revenue officer for Visual IQ, which Forrester Research rated #1 best in class global attribution technology platform.
Previous to Visual IQ, he had been a part of the Aegis/Isobar family of companies since 2001 as executive vice president for Isobar/Carat. Alan was also president/founder of the digital marketing agency, Vizium. In 2001, he successfully sold the firm to the global agency holding company Aegis. Alan serves on the board of DMG (parent corporation of ad:tech and iMedia) as well as several advisory boards for digital ad tech startups. Alan is an Economics graduate of Skidmore College and received his MBA in Business from Babson College.
ELI PARISER
PRESIDENT
UPWORTHY, GOOD WORLDWIDE
Eli Pariser is the President of Upworthy and GOOD Worldwide. He has dedicated his career to figuring out how technology can elevate important topics in the world — as an author, an online organizer, and most recently, as a co-founder of Upworthy. Eli served as the executive director of MoveOn.org from 2004-2009, growing membership to more than 5 million members and raising over $120 million. He also co-founded Avaaz.org, which is now the largest online advocacy organization in the world. In 2011, Eli published the bestselling book, The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You. Eli founded Upworthy with longtime collaborator Peter Koechley in March 2012. The pair set out to prove once and for all that what’s important can be incredibly popular, even if what’s popular isn’t usually important.
NOELLE PEREZ
SENIOR MANAGER, GLOBAL MARKETING & DIGITAL ADVANCEMENT
THE HERSHEY COMPANY
Noelle Perez is a digital marketing and advertising veteran with over 10 years of experience in the media industry. She is currently senior manager of global integrated marketing communications and digital advancement at the Hershey Company, and is leading all digital learning and transformation with brands through innovation testing & modern marketing approach. Her primary focus is to accelerate advances in digital marketing by strategically pushing smart experimentation beyond conventional and planned campaign tactics.
Previously in the advertising industry, Noelle spearheaded accounts such as Microsoft, Shiseido, Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer. She is responsible for developing award-winning digital campaigns and strategic plans on various CPG, healthcare and pharmaceutical brands. Prior to moving to Hershey, Noelle spent 3 years as an adjunct professor at NYU School of Professional Studies where she taught digital marketing and campaign planning and management to graduate students studying integrated marketing. Noelle has a master’s degree in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from NYU.
ERIC PICARD
VP, PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
PANDORA
Eric Picard is an advertising technology expert with more than 20 years of experience in the ad technology industry. Eric is currently vice president of advertising product management at Pandora Media. Previously Eric led product strategy for the DSP business at MediaMath, which acquired his startup Rare Crowds in 2014. Rare Crowds built micro-segmentation technology for finding valuable highly targeted audiences, at scale, and was a spin-out from TRAFFIQ, where Eric was the chief product officer.
Previous to this, Eric was at Microsoft for six years, where he had a variety of roles in technology strategy. He helped set the company’s long-term vision for advertising technology, emerging media product planning, planning for incubation & research teams, and designed next generation advertising products. Eric started working in ad technology as founder and director of product management at Bluestreak from 1997 to 2004, where he oversaw advertising products, such as third-party ad serving, ad analytics, rich media products and led development of many company technologies. A frequent speaker across the industry, Eric has written about advertising technology since 1999.
CARL PRINDLE
PRESIDENT + CEO
BLUEPORT COMMERCE
Carl Prindle is CEO of Blueport Commerce, the leading Cloud ecommerce platform for furniture, used by the largest retailers in North America to run their omnichannel websites, provide better shopping experiences for their customers and drive sales online and in their stores. Prior to this Carl was senior vice president of product development for Furniture.com, a “pure play” furniture e-commerce site. Responsible for the company’s website design, merchandising, and direct marketing efforts, he drove online furniture sales to an annualized $84M in less than a year.
Carl later led the effort to purchase the company’s name and technology, looking to apply learnings from the dot-com boom to the $100B brick and mortar furniture industry. Carl also served as consultant and engagement manager for retail, technology, and growth strategy projects at McKinsey. Carl also led product design efforts for Fortune 100 firms, involved in projects including the design of the original Reebok Pump, the 1995 Ford Explorer, and a Dust Buster for Black and Decker. He holds 10 U.S. Patents. Carl holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a Product Design concentration from Stanford University and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.
FROST PRIOLEAU
CEO
SIMPLI.FI
Frost Prioleau is the co-founder and CEO of Simpli.fi. An experienced online advertising executive specializing in targeting, optimization, and technology, he focuses on corporate strategy, driving Simpli.fi’s growth, and ensuring customer satisfaction. Prior to Simpli.fi, Frost was the CEO and founder of Personifi, a contextual and behavioral targeting company. The firm was acquired by Collective Media in 2008. While at Collective, he served as General Manager of the Technology Solutions Group.
Considered to be a thought leader in online advertising, Frost often speaks on the topic at industry trade shows and shares his opinions and insights with various publications. He is a graduate of Princeton University, where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering Management Systems.
ED ROMAINE
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
KARGO
Ed Romaine is chief marketing officer at Kargo. Ed is a proven sales development and branded content executive with over fourteen years of experience overseeing the development of advertising solutions across digital, mobile, video, experiential and print platforms. At Kargo, Ed oversees product marketing, strategy, research, pr/social communications, creative services and global experiences.
Beginning his career in the music industry with posts at Warner Brothers and Sire Records, Ed has also optimized campaign performances for many Fortune 500 clients at Alloy Media+Marketing, Bauer Media Group and Hearst Media Corporation before serving five years at Conde Nast, overseeing Integrated Marketing + Sales Development at both W and GQ US divisions. Ed studied international marketing and received his MBA from Southern New Hampshire University after graduating from Rutgers University with a BA in Spanish and Media Studies. He is also the host of a new podcast, Mobilizing Culture, available on iTunes and Google Play.
SIMON ROSENBERG
PRESIDENT
NDN, NEW POLICY INSTITUTE
Simon Rosenberg is president of New Democrat Network and New Policy Institute, a think tank based in Washington, DC. An experienced television news producer and highly regarded political strategist and thinker, Simon has spent three decades in national media and politics. He is a veteran of two Presidential campaigns, including a leading role in the famous 1992 Clinton War Room. In his current capacity as president of NDN/New Policy Institute, Simon advises leading politicians, Administration officials and policy makers on a wide range of issues here in the United States and abroad. He is a frequent commentator in the national media, appearing regularly in major newspapers and websites, political journals and on cable and network television. A few years ago GQ magazine named him of the 50 most powerful people in Washington, and he currently writes a weekly column on American politics for US News and World Report.
Simon is a graduate of Tufts University and currently serves on the board of the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts. He is also a Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a member of the U.S. State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Information and Communications Policy.
ANNE SCHELLE
MANAGING DIRECTOR
PEARL TV
Anne Schelle is managing director of Pearl TV, a business consortia of broadcast companies working to develop next-generation broadcast television platforms. Previously, a senior advisor to the National Association of Broadcasters and Executive Director of the Open Mobile Video Coalition, Anne led outreach efforts by broadcasters to introduce Mobile TV services. Anne was previously CEO of Acta Wireless, providing senior advisory services to some of the nation's largest wireless and public media companies focused on the future of digital media. Anne currently serves on the Board of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), she is a former member of the board of directors of ConnecTV, a Pearl investment. She is also previously serviced as a founding member of the advisory board of the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering for Professionals.
SAMANTHA SKEY
PRESIDENT & CRO
SHEKNOWS MEDIA
Samantha Skey is president and chief revenue officer for SheKnows Media, a community platform and publisher providing content to over 63 million women and 368 million social media fans and followers. Samantha oversees revenue, marketing and operations for all brands within the SheKnows Media portfolio. Since joining the company in February 2013, she has grown the company’s revenue from $25 million in annual revenue in 2013, to $54 million in 2016.
Samantha is a media and technology executive with a track record of success in building exponential growth for consumer and enterprise businesses. She also advises early-stage Internet companies on growth strategies and builds programs for women entrepreneurs.
At SheKnows Media, Samantha launched Hatch, the company’s media literacy and digital storytelling program for ‘Generation Z’ in February 2014. Hatch has been covered extensively by leading media outlets and has won three Telly Awards for producing social impact video content.
Prior to SheKnows Media, Samantha was CRO for Recyclebank Ltd. She has also held management positions at Alloy inc, The Walt Disney Company, CNET and ThinkPassenger. Samantha has received numerous high-profile industry awards, she also serves on the advisory board for a number of organizations, including The IAB, The Ad Council and Smartypants.
ANDRE SWANSTON
CO-FOUNDER & CEO
TRU OPTIK
Andre Swanston is a proven leader and entrepreneur with a wide range of experience in marketing, finance, and starting and growing companies. As CEO and co-founder of Tru Optik, he has led the company's business development, product innovation and go to market strategy. Under Andre’s leadership, Tru Optik has become the preferred over-the-top data and technology partner for many of the world’s largest media companies, brands, and agencies.
Before founding Tru Optik, Andre served as a vice president of investments at JP Morgan Chase and also led the media and entertainment division at a boutique investment bank in New York City. Prior to that, he owned one of the region's largest night clubs and event production companies working with many of the largest millennial-facing brands and entertainers in the world.
DOMENIC VENUTO
VP & HEAD OF CONSUMER DIVISION, THE WEATHER COMPANY/WATSON ADVERTISING
As vice president and head of consumer division for The Weather Company, an IBM Business (Weather), Domenic Venuto is responsible for leading the company’s consumer business across all digital platforms. This includes consumer product design for mobile, web, desktop, wearable devices and more for both The Weather Channel® and Weather Underground; global expansion; data distribution; and an award-winning digital editorial organization. The Weather Company’s consumer products offer immersive storytelling and personalized experiences for an average of 225 million monthly users. Prior to Weather, Domenic served as global president, data, technology & partnerships at VivaKi, of Publicis Groupe. There he led a global team, overseeing product, strategy, engineering and partnerships to develop proprietary programmatic products that interface with external data, ad tech and publisher platforms. Previously, Domenic held roles at VivaKi and Razorfish. He began his career at Arthur Andersen, where he developed long-term strategic business plans and led large-scale technology implementations for Australian and American clients. Domenic received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne, a graduate degree in computing from Monash University, and an MBA from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.
ALEXIS VAN DE WYER
CEO
ADSWIZZ
Alexis van de Wyer is the chief executive officer of AdsWizz, the global leader in advertising platforms for the digital audio industry. Alexis has successfully lead the company to become a go-to resource for many of the world’s most prominent ad networks, agencies, and digital audio publishers. During his tenure, AdsWizz became the leading provider of server-side ad insertion software, audio-centric adserving and programmatic platforms, as well as an audio premium marketplace for over 2 billion monthly impressions.
From 2005 through 2011, Alexis held various management roles at eBay, in product management, marketing, global advertising and finally serving as the general manager for eBay’s AdCommerce and ProStores entities. He started his career in the Telecom and Finance industries, where he was in charge of developing and launching e-commerce and mobile commerce solutions. Alexis holds a MS in Applied Economics, a MS in Engineering from University of Louvain (Belgium) and a MBA from INSEAD (France/Singapore).
LISA WEINSTEIN
CEO
CURIOSITY
Lisa Weinstein is the CEO of Curiosity. In the nearly three years since spinning out of Discovery, Curiosity has built a coveted audience across its 5-star app, website and social presence.
Prior to this she was CEO of Engine Media, in this role she was responsible for building and leading the network’s global media services operating unit. Engine Media evolved in under two years from an idea to a high growth and scaled business through organic growth and acquisitions to create a modern media offering which redefined the potential for media services today and for the future. Prior, Lisa served as president of global digital, data & analytics, at Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) where she was instrumental in pioneering new ways to leverage online, mobile, social and search, as well as the data those media generate. She served as the digital guide for some of the biggest marketers in the world, including P&G, Walmart, Samsung and Kraft.
Lisa has earned accolades including the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Hall of Achievement, Advertising Age and Crain’s Chicago Business 40 under 40, Advertising Age Media Maven, Advertising Women of New York’s Women Changing the Game, iMedia 25 Innovators, Adweek Media All-Star and Broadcasting & Cable Next Wave of Leaders. She has served as an advisor to many start-ups and has served on Google’s Global Media Council, Twitter’s Client Council, Forbes Executive Women’s Board, AAF Board of Directors and the IAB Agency Advisory Board, among others.
RODNEY WILLIAMS
FOUNDER & CEO
LISNR
Rodney Williams, CEO and co-founder of LISNR, leads one of the most disruptive companies in the IoT space and the world of mobile connectivity. LISNR is an ultrasonic inaudible technology; a communication protocol that sends data over audio. As the CEO of LISNR, Rodney has grown the company from a single idea to a promising global standard, with over +40 industry awards, most notably a Cannes Gold Lion in Mobile Software Innovation and a 2017 CES Honoree in Mobile Software.
He has also been honored by Ad Age's Top 40 under 40, Upstart100 and selected as Black Enterprise's Tech Entrepreneur of the Year. An alum of the R/GA Accelerator powered by Techstars and named to the 2015 and 2016 CNBC Disruptor 50 Lists, Rodney is an innovative and out-of-the-box strategic thinker, always looking for new ways to connect consumers more effectively with technology.
MARK ZAGORSKI
CEO
TELARIA
Mark brings over 20 years of digital marketing leadership to his role as CEO of Telaria, Inc. Previously, as CEO of eXelate, Mark expanded the company’s global data footprint to over 5 Billion consumers, grew its application ecosystem to include over 250 partners and launched its market leading enterprise data platform. In March of 2015, Mark led the sale of eXelate to the Nielsen Company, the global leader in measurement and analytics.
Mark has been at the forefront of digital disruption since 1997 when he joined Modem Media Poppe Tyson, a pioneering digital ad agency and birthplace of the first banner ad. Following his agency tenure working for clients like IBM, Priceline and Standard & Poor’s, Mark was appointed president of WorldNow, which ushered over 300 TV stations into the digital age. He later helped newspapers evolve online as chief marketing officer and corporate executive vice president of MediaSpan, where he built its 1400+ affiliate local network. Mark received his MBA from the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business and a BS in Finance from Gannon University, where he was awarded the University’s Distinguished Young Alumnus Award as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters (Phd.) In 2017 he was named as one of AdWeek's MarTech Superstars.