Industry veteran joins from OMD to increase product innovation in partnership with agency leaders.
TripleLift, one of the fastest-growing ad tech companies in the world, announced the hiring of Ben Winkler as Senior Vice President, Agency Strategy. The role was created in response to four years of consecutive growth greater than 70%. TripleLift’s trajectory is attributed to its omni-channel strategy, which drove a steady increase in new and industry-first advertiser products across desktop, mobile and television. In July, as ad spend continued to scale, the company passed $500m in lifetime publisher payouts. Increasingly, that spend is coming through new revenue channels and being spent on new ad products.
Winkler brings a powerful combination of expertise in brand strategy, media investment and industry leadership to the role. During his nine years at OMD, Winkler served in C-level roles driving senior relationships inside and outside the company. As Chief Transformation Officer, he created OMDs first-ever programmatic upfront. As Chief Investment Officer, he was responsible for $12B in annual media spend and reorganized the broadcast team into a platform-agnostic video investment group. During that tenure, he led or supported critical client engagements including Hasbro, Cigna, Pepsi, Apple, State Farm, Eli Lilly and CBS. Winkler will partner across TripleLift disciplines to develop the executive level strategy that will lead to deeper, stronger and more solutions oriented relationships with holding companies.
As TripleLift continues its expansion into display, video and OTT products, the company identified a need to work more closely with agency leaders to innovate within and beyond the current product set. “Ben is a creative problem solver and storyteller who builds and shapes advertising programs with a client-first mindset,” said TripleLift CRO Jax Quatrell. “As we take our business to the next level, it’s valuable for us to add those skills along with his strong track record of digital transformation.”
After more than 20 years in agencies, Winkler sought new challenges to keep him connected to that part of the industry. “I have a deep understanding of agency and holding company motivations, business drivers and challenges — many of which can be solved with creative technology. TripleLift has built killer products that are foundationally about transparency and clarity. They don’t just perform, they help close the perceived trust gap in programmatic media. And because programmatic is unquestionably the future, this company and this role are ripe with opportunity.”
TripleLift co-founder and CEO Eric Berry said the timing was right to make the hire. “We have weathered the storm of the current pandemic and are in a strong market position. The competitive and fast-moving nature of our business means that we must continue to invest in the future. Bringing on a head of agency strategy will enable us to accelerate our roadmap. Ben is an excellent fit for both our culture and ambition.”
Winkler starts at TripleLift on September 14th and will report to Quantrell.
Ben Winkler, Advertising Industry Strategist & Influencer
Most recently, Winkler served in senior roles at OMD including Chief Digital Officer from 2011-2015, Chief Investment Officer from 2016-2018 and Chief Transformation Officer from 2018-2020. In those roles, he created the first ever programmatic upfront, was responsible for $12B in annual media investment, transformed and re-trained the broadcast team into a platform-agnostic video team and served clients including Hasbro, Cigna, McDonald’s, J&J and Time Warner Cable. Prior to OMD, Winkler was SVP of Digital at Initiative Media, VP of Interactive at The Martin Agency and Media Director at i33, one of the industry’s early digital agencies. He holds a Bachelor’s degree with honors in Psychology from Wesleyan University. He resides in New York City with his wife, also an ad industry veteran, and their two children.
About TripleLift
TripleLift, one of the fastest-growing ad tech companies in the world, is a technology company rooted at the intersection of creative and media. Its mission is to make advertising better for everyone — publishers, advertisers and consumers — by reinventing ad placement one medium at a time. With direct inventory sources, diverse product lines, and creative designed for scale using our Computer Vision technology, TripleLift is driving the next generation of programmatic advertising from desktop to television. As of January 2020, TripleLift has recorded four years of consecutive growth of greater than 70 percent, and in 2019 added employees and locations in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. TripleLift is a Business Insider Hottest AdTech Company, Inc. Magazine 5000, Crain’s New York Fast 50, and Deloitte Technology Fast 500. Find more information about how TripleLift is shaping the future of advertising at triplelift.com.
