Scott Swanson
CEO
Scott is a pioneer in marketing technology. With over 20 years in the industry, he’s focused on the crossroads between technology innovation and the art of digital marketing. Prior to Aki, Scott founded Mobile Theory, the industry’s first brand-focused mobile advertising technology company. Following Mobile Theory’s acquisition by Opera Software, he served as its President of Global Advertising, leading a 250-person team. Scott was also on the founding team of Tribal Fusion and Vitrue, which was acquired by Oracle, and founded ad tech consulting firm 47 Media. He is a frequent speaker at industry events and regular contributor to trade publications like Adweek, AdAge, Digiday and MediaPost.
Alvaro Bravo
PRESIDENT
Alvaro’s long history of mobile advertising innovation begins with Greystripe, where, as part of the executive team, he built the largest ad-supported distribution network for games and apps (pre-App Store) and created the first mobile indirect sales strategy leading to the company’s acquisition by Valueclick. He then joined Mobile Theory as COO, which was acquired by Opera Software, after which he served as COO of Global Ad Services for Opera Mediaworks. Alvaro began his career as a management consultant, working with world-class media and telecom companies for Monitor Group. He holds a degree in Engineering.
Orr Orenstein
COO
Orr brings more than twenty-five years of technology and mobile experience to Aki Technologies. Before joining the company, he developed groundbreaking new ad products as the Head of the Opera Mediaworks Innovation Lab. Orr also served as CTO of Mobile Theory, overseeing the strategic direction for product management, product, architecture and infrastructure, operations, and R&D. He was Vice President of Mobile Products at Fox Digital Media’s Photobucket app and served at tech giants like Vodafone, IBM, VeriSign, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, and Netscape.
Todd Benedict
CRO
Todd has been immersed in digital marketing and sales for more than two decades, with a track record of exceeding revenue targets in startups and established media companies. Prior to joining Aki, he served as Chief Revenue Officer at Tapad where he was responsible for data sales, media sales, customer success and ad operations. Before that, he was EVP of Sales at PlaceIQ, where he oversaw customer success and sales teams comprised of enterprise and managed media. Earlier in his career, he served as EVP of Sales at Collective Media, where he oversaw a 55 person team.
Omar Benguerah
GM, RETAIL MARKETING SOLUTIONS
Omar is an internet veteran with more than 20 years of experience in product, technology and strategy. Prior to Aki, Omar spent 10 years at Criteo, initially as the head of product, growing the company from a small startup in France to a multi-billion global company, listed on the NASDAQ in 2013. He then oversaw new products, M&A, strategy and built the Retail Media division, powering the largest retailers worldwide. Prior to Criteo, Omar was the Chief Technology Officer of a large retail marketplace in France, acquired by Groupe 3Suisses, and founder of two other companies in the e-commerce and social media space.
Stephanie Klimaszewski
SVP, MARKETING
Stephanie Klimaszewski is a marketing executive with 15 years of experience building digital marketing solutions for brands, publishers and advertising technologies. Her professional mission is to elevate the marketing and advertising industry to deliver brilliant and transformative experiences on behalf of brand advertisers. Prior to Aki, she led marketing for Kiip (now InMarket) and built integrated marketing solutions for SpinMedia (now Billboard) in service of campaigns for Microsoft, Kraft, W Hotels and Bank of America. Her work has been featured by TechCrunch, VentureBeat, AdWeek and the New York Times, and she’s presented her work and original research to Charles Schwab and at CES 2018.
Ivan Valdes
VP, TECHNOLOGY & ARCHITECTURE
Ivan is a seasoned engineer having more than 20 years of full-stack coding experience, enabling him to make crucial technical decisions in support of Aki’s platform, architecture, and technology. He is an enthusiastic open-source software contributor. Before joining Aki, he was the CTO and co-founder of Mohound, an app marketing platform, engineering leader at Ooyala, an online video platform acquired by Telstra. Ivan holds a BS in Electronic Systems Engineering.
Sarah McDevitt
VP, CLIENT SUCCESS
Sarah is a ten year veteran in the digital marketing space with a dedication to client services and client success. Her early career began at burgeoning companies like Dedicated Media, YuMe and Adotube holding positions in sales and sales support. Following this, Sarah joined Tapad as the 35th employee and first account manager outside of their NYC HQ. During her 5+ years at Tapad, Sarah grew her career to eventually head up the account management team, leading them through the company’s acquisition by Telenor and later the acqui-hire to social media advertising veteran, Brand Networks. While at Brand Networks, Sarah took on new challenges joining the Partnerships and Business Development team with a focus on cultivating Brand Networks’ omni-channel digital offering.
Lyn Vito
VP, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Lyn Vito is an accomplished leader with a diverse experience in mobile advertising. Prior to Aki Technologies, Lyn held roles across platform solutions, publisher partnerships and agency sales. At Kargo, she led publisher acquisition efforts working with media powerhouses like Time Inc., News Corp., New York Times and more. She has executed cutting edge mobile campaigns for influential brands like McDonald’s, Intel and Lincoln Motor Company. Lyn enjoys collaborating with her strong professional network of senior industry leaders to promote deeper understanding of the mobile ad space. She is passionate about empowering women in technology and enjoys helping others break into the technology industry.
Risa Crandall
SVP, CPG STRATEGY AND SALES
Risa Crandall is a leader in technology, paving the way in mobile, AI, connected home, CTV to bring clients solutions that will move their brands forward and drive sales. As a sales leader Risa has motivated, energized and educated the industry on personalization and performance marketing. Prior to Aki Risa has lead the CPG team nationally at Eyeview and Meredith. At Crisp mobile Risa was one of the “founding five” … building the company from a client centric idea to a strong, robust business driving the national team forward. Risa is a Co-Chair of the ANA Commerce Committee and speaks frequently to inspire and educate on the power of mobile and technology.
Salah Shami
VP, PRODUCT & ADVERTISING OPERATIONS
Salah Shami’s career in advertising technology began at Mobile Theory where he worked on the Advertising Operations team and oversaw process deployment, technical operations, and certifications. After Mobile Theory’s acquisition by Opera Software, Salah took a role as a member of the Opera Mediaworks Innovation Lab and participated in a successful organic build-out of the company’s APAC division in India. After 5 years in Operations, Salah joined Bidtellect as Head of Product, where he worked to drive innovation for their Demand Side Platform technology, drive development of SaaS solutions, oversee integrations, and implement advanced bidding & fraud prevention methodologies.
Jake Davis
VP, MARKETING INTELLIGENCE
Jacob Davis has spent his career turning complex analytics into actionable strategy. At Aki, he leads teams that partner with internal and external stakeholder to drive better decision making through data analysis and strategic thinking. Prior to Aki, Jacob built the Analytics Services practice at Cheetah Digital, partnering with global brands across the retail, finance, and hospitality sectors to squeeze more value from their data. Before that, he worked as a senior strategy consultant at Experian Marketing Services, helping Fortune 500 brands to evolve their marketing efforts. Jacob received his BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He never misses a Pittsburgh Steelers game.
Sarah Odello
DIRECTOR, HR
Sarah’s career has always centered around her great interest in people and how to enhance their work-life experience. She has a background in recruiting, executive support, and HR. She honed her skills at companies big and small, including powerhouse names like Salesforce and Facebook, as well as small but mighty tech shops, such as her previous company, Element Analytics, and now Aki. She enjoys streamlining processes, making the complex feel simple, and being a trusted resource for her team. More than anything, she wants to make the workplace fun and help employees feel happy and engaged. She holds a BA in Theatre, a further testament to her desire to study the complexities of humankind.
Devin Fong
DIRECTOR, FINANCE
With nearly 10 years of experience in corporate finance, Devin knows that great financial data is essential to a business’ success. As Director of Finance at Aki, Devin provides both business-empowering financial insights and the financial oversight necessary to build a strong organization focused on solving clients’ challenges. Prior to joining Aki, Devin served as a financial specialist and strategic business partner to startups in the AdTech and FinTech spaces. He also partnered with a global team of finance executives to increase the impact of an international non-profit. Devin holds a degree in Corporate Finance and Financial Services from San Francisco State University.