Honors Exceptional Leadership and Contributions from Companies and Individuals That Are Driving the Digital Media & Marketing Industry Forward
PHOENIX – At the 2015 IAB Annual Leadership Meeting: “Content and the King Makers,” at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix, AZ, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced the winners of its 2015 Sales and Service Excellence Awards. The IAB Sales Awards are bestowed upon individuals and organizations for superior leadership and achievement in digital advertising sales. The IAB Service Excellence Awards acknowledge members’ noteworthy influence on and contributions to IAB industry initiatives.
“Their capacity to bridge connections with advertisers and agencies is the foundation for success in the ad tech landscape. It is a pleasure to celebrate their accomplishments.”
2015 IAB Sales Excellence Awards
The IAB Sales Executive Council oversees the Sales Excellence Awards program, and works with the research firm, Advertiser Perceptions, Inc., to identify which skills and achievements should be measured and honored for the awards. Advertiser Perceptions then sends out a two-part customer feedback survey, which serves to identify the sales organizations and individuals that the ad buying community believes excel.
Seven hundred and twenty agency and marketing executives responded to the questionnaire, with respondents representing a broad cross-section of verticals, including: Automotive, CPG, Financial, Retail and Travel. Each individual respondent spent at least $1 million on interactive advertising during the last year.
2015 IAB Sales Excellence Awards Winners are:
- Overall Sales Excellence for a Small to Medium Size Sales Organization: Rocket Fuel
- Overall Sales Excellence for a Large Sales Organization: Discovery Digital Media
- Leadership through Mentoring: David Lawenda, Head of US Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook
- Sales Person of the Year:
- East Coast: Eve Silver, Google
- West Coast: Dominic Rioux, Amazon
- Central: Angie Cucco, Google
- South: Willy Ruiz, Pandora and Rusty Roberts, Pandora
“The Sales Excellence Award winners have demonstrated outstanding achievement in selling digital advertising,” said Sherrill Mane, Senior Vice President, Research, Analytics and Measurement, IAB. “Their capacity to bridge connections with advertisers and agencies is the foundation for success in the ad tech landscape. It is a pleasure to celebrate their accomplishments.”
2015 IAB Service Excellence Awards
The IAB Service Excellence Awards recognize individual members who have provided strong leadership and made noteworthy contributions to at least one IAB initiative in the past year. Participants in 20 IAB councils and committees along with dozens of working groups decide who wins the awards.
“The Service Excellence Award winners selected this year have devoted themselves to pushing the boundaries of interactive advertising and helping the industry to grow in meaningful ways,” said Lisa Milgram, Senior Vice President, Membership Programs, IAB. “Their eagerness to establish new initiatives will help shape the space for years to come and sets the standard for leadership in our industry. We are pleased to honor them.”
2015 IAB Service Excellence Awards Winners are:
- Brian Buizer, Director, Audience Monetization, Pandora, for his work as a major contributor to the Mobile Data Primer and participation in the Data Certification Joint Task Analysis (JTA) team
- Pat Connolly, Senior Vice President, Sales Strategy and Partnerships, Condé Nast, for his superlative work in the Ad Product Advisory Board
- Chris Falkner, SVP, Advanced TV, NBC Broadcasting at NBCUniversal, & Adam Lowy, GM, Interactive & Advanced TV, Dish Network, for their leadership, dedication and persistence in forming and helming the Advanced TV Advisory Board
- Kunal Gupta, CEO, Polar, for his numerous contributions in helping educate the industry on the topic of native advertising
- Khurrum Malik, Head of Partner Development, Facebook, for his outstanding work as Co-Chair of the IAB Data Council and as a major contributor to the IAB Mobile Data Primer
- Marta Martinez, Global Head of Video Sales, AOL Advertising, for her leadership role in the highly successful IAB Town Hall on Redefining Prime Time
- Benjamin Masse, SVP and GM of Advertising, Triton Digital, for his guiding role in the IAB Digital Audio Ad Serving Template (DAAST) Working Group
- Charlotte Narvaez, Director of Product Management, Turn, for her outstanding leadership of the IAB Mobile Ad Ops Working Group
- Paul Neto, Director Research & Technical Marketing, YuMe, for his exceptional work for the IAB Data Measurement Working Group
- Leah Rogerson, CFO, PulsePoint, for her impressive work as Co-Chair of CFO Council and within the IAB Tax Working Group
- Carine Roman, Head of Global Advertising Operations, LinkedIn, for her superlative work as the Co-Chair of the IAB Social Media Committee, driving the completion of the IAB Social Media Buyer’s Guide
- Mollie Spilman, Chief Revenue Officer, Criteo, for her tremendous contributions to the Make Mobile Work program and the IAB Cross-Screen Case Study and Creative Showcases
- Kevin Wassong, CEO, LIN Mobile for exceptional service of the board of the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence
- Aaron Wood, Director, Production Services, AOL Premium Experiences at AOL Platforms, for his outstanding work in the IAB Display Creative Guidelines Working Group
About the IAB
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. It is comprised of more than 650 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling, delivering, and optimizing digital advertising or marketing programs. Together, they account for 86 percent of online advertising in the United States. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. The organization is committed to professional development, elevating the knowledge, skills, and expertise of individuals across the digital marketing industry. The IAB also educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City.
