My background was in digital publishing (MSN, AOL, Huffington Post) and so I understood the challenges that digital publishers were facing. When I was looking for my next role I knew that I wanted to support digital publishing but I didn’t necessarily want to go back and work at a publishers.

After doing some research, it was clear that programmatic was the ‘future’ of digital advertising and so I looked into companies that were operating in that space.

I chose PubMatic because they were supply (publisher) focused and so I felt that their mission and values aligned with mine. I could support digital publishers without working directly for one.

I’m PubMatic’s Chief Revenue Officer for EMEA. In a nutshell I am responsible for the EMEA business for PubMatic – focusing on growing the business by ensuring that we are adding value to our customers at all stages in their relationship with us, from acquisition to advocacy.

My team are spread out across the region with offices in UK, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Spain, France and The Netherlands – so I get an amazing opportunity to work with a really diverse group of people, learning about different ways of doing business and observing different cultures.

It’s an incredibly exciting sector and place to work as the industry matures and evolves – with new formats (in-app, CTV, retail media) utilising programmatic as a monetisation platform and more buyers (agencies and brands) understanding the value that buying programmatically brings.

New product launches, new ways of buying, keeping up with changing compliance and regulatory needs, ever expanding customer sets, means no day is the same.

And, of course, I’m priviledged to work with the best team in programmatic.

Moving from a marketing role to a broader, commercially focused, management role – ‘owning’ a number can be a daunting prospect. I remember talking to my CEO about my career aspirations about six months prior to be offered the role and my reservations about taking on a commercial role.  He gave me lots of good advice, the main piece that stuck in my mind was (and I am paraphrasing) “if you are going to change direction, do it in a company well you are well known and respected, it’s a safer place as you’ve already proven yourself and you know the leadership has your back and wants you to succeed”.  That gave me the confidence to take the leap.

I’ve actually been fortunate to have had many fantastic managers and each of them has played a pivotal role in my career at just the right time. A bit like ‘being in the right place at the right time’.

I would say that the one thing they all had in common was that the took a real interest in me as an individual, they were unafraid to having open and honest conversations and I felt like they had my back and helped to pave my way.

If I had to call out any specific individuals I would say, Jeff Hirsch (my current manager – he has taken many leaps of faith with me) and Sharon Baylay (my first manager at Microsoft – who made me believe in myself).

Build a network of colleagues and friends who have your back. You’re going to need them to cry with, to laugh with and to drink lots of wine with.  They’ll also be your voice when you’re not in the room – pushing you forward for opportunities that you may not even be aware of.

It’s not easy to always stay motivated so a few things I ‘remind’ myself of when I’m not firing on all cylinders:

• • Make sure you do something that scares you every day. Not in a terrifying way, but more in a ‘wow, I didn’t know I could do this’ kind of way
  • Look for learning opportunities in every situation
  • Like the people you work with – you’re going to spend a lot of time with them
  • If in doubt, fake it until it comes. It’s amazing how you can change your mindset if you alter your behaviour, language and attitude.

Competitive, compassionate, cheerful (mostly)

At the rate of change it’s going through (which shows no signs of slowing down) I’m really not sure I know. What I do know is, that if it’ll still have me, I’m still going to be here!