Ad Tech Briefing: The Trade Desk’s ‘changing of the guard’ and a ‘sign of the times’

The churn at the under-fire demand-side platform included the departure of its CMO, Ian Colley, as well as that of Matthew Henick, the executive leading The Trade Desk’s bid to woo television OEMs, with its Ventura operating system. 

Meanwhile, MiQ announced the purchase of Rocket Lab, just weeks after buying AdsMovil – it declined to reveal the value of these deals – thus bringing the U.K.-founded entity’s acquisition spree to five since its private equity takeover in 2022. 

TTD’s ‘changing of the guard’ 

The departure of The Trade Desk’s comms chief, Melinda Zurich, completes the latest flurry of exec exits – these follow successive C-suite shakeups in late 2025 – with leadership at the DSP characterizing the moves as a “changing of the guard,” noting its succession plans.  

The nature of such high-profile departures can be interpreted in many ways, though observers can point to recent bruising encounters with two of its most significant supply chain partners, Omnicom and Publicis Groupe, both of these crowning a 12-month window that has seen its stock price drop considerably.  

Digiday sources point to a subsequently released papers ahead of its next AGM, where documentation discussed retaining talent, plus adjusting its executive compensation model to support long-term shareholder value creation, i.e., long-term enterprise value, not short-termism.

As to whether or not there will be a new direction from The Trade Desk after its AGM, due later this quarter, remains to be seen, but with sources pointing to the shifting nature of the DSP’s relationships with most of its traditional partners, surely more changes are on the horizon.  

‘A buyer’s market’ 

Meanwhile, MiQ has made two strategic acquisitions, both originally founded in Latin America, as it looks to deepen its in‑app capabilities and cement its position in high-growth markets, according to its global president of corporate development, Paul Silver. 

In Adsmovil, MiQ has bought a South America–based programmatic specialist operating in 13 markets, bringing omnichannel programmatic buying, including strong audience and data assets, with Silver pointing to its retail media offering as a crucial factor. And with Rocket Lab, MiQ has acquired a mobile specialist, with Silver referring to it as an “in‑app growth partner” and highlighting its ability to aid international growth, particularly in Asian markets.   

When quizzed on the decision to make further M&A moves, especially when the emergence of AI introduces the option to build, Silver framed both deals as bets on “hard‑won expertise” and existing revenue. “I don’t think you can vibe code your way to sort of replacing sort of years of expertise in these categories,” he added. 

Many market observers point out that such deals are necessary to achieve the scale required by media buying teams, most of whom are increasingly exercising greater discretion when deciding whether to include ad tech companies in their media plans. 

For some, this means independent ad tech companies – faced with the ever-increasing resolve of Big Tech players, now buttressed with the commercial offerings of ChatGPT, etc. – either have to bulk up, or face demise. 

One source, who declined to be named in order to maintain industry relations, added, “It’s a buyer’s market, many ad tech firms will struggle to find exits; either they do or risk drifting into ‘zombie company’ status.” 

Numbers to know

As David Dugan joins OpenAI to help build its ads business, including a “Google Ads Manager-like” offering, here are some numbers to familiarize yourself with: 

• $200,000: the minimum spend OpenAI has reportedly asked advertisers to commit to for participating in the scheme
• $100 million: the annual run-rate it hit six weeks after the launch of the pilot in ChatGPT 
• $100 billion: the projected annual run-rate by 2030
• $15-$60: the reported CPM range for placements in the early experiments  

What we’ve covered 

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What we’ve heard 

“Interest at the start of a pilot is the easiest part… converting that into committed budgets, repeatable performance, and measurable ROI is where it gets harder.”

– An industry veteran with experience in pitching new ad platforms, as well as making agency budget commitments, comments on the $100 million annualized run-rate on OpenAI’s ChatGPT successes.

What we’re reading

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When DSPs and SSPs converge

W Media Research’s Karsten Weide observes how what was once “an incremental feature expansion” – a stand off that’s been taking shape for the past ~ five years – is evolving into a structural reorganization of how digital advertising is transacted, and coins the term “unified advertising platform” (UAP) to boot. 

The Tech Oversight Project: Big Tech’s era of invincibility is over

Articles entered into evidence in multiple trials, including internal documents, expert testimony, and whistleblower accounts, allege that social media platforms were not designed to be safe, that companies did not provide effective warnings to teens and parents, and that the platforms’ parental controls are ineffective.

How Thomson Reuters powers ICE and Palantir

Thomson Reuters, the media company that is also a data broker, has long provided underlying personal data for Immigration and Customs Enforcement tools, according to documents obtained by 404 Media.