Mediaocean, the mission-critical platform for omnichannel advertising, has announced new leadership roles for some of its current executives and others who joined the company following its acquisition and integration of Flashtalking, the leading independent ad management platform.
John Nardone, who was CEO of Flashtalking prior to the acquisition in July, has been named President of Mediaocean. He is focused on innovation and integration across all aspects of Mediaocean’s market-leading omnichannel advertising platform. Reporting to Mediaocean Co-Founder & CEO, Bill Wise, Nardone will oversee product, technology, strategy, and product marketing for the combined companies.
Nardone has three decades of experience in advertising, media, and technology—regarded by many as a first-generation ad tech pioneer. In the early 1990’s, he was part of the first online ad campaign from Modem Media and, later in his career, was the CEO of [x+1], a company that helped define the demand side platform category. John was also a founding board member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
“Marketers and their agency partners seek trusted, independent solutions to manage their businesses amid the rise of big tech,” Wise said. “Each of the executives that are taking on new roles at Mediaocean will help us bring comprehensive and future-forward solutions to our clients. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with these leaders as we continue to transform our company and the industry.”
New roles and titles for the following executives include:
Ben Kartzman
Previously Chief Operating Officer at Flashtalking, Ben retains that title at Mediaocean and leads corporate operations, growth, and client operations. As a part of his role, he is overseeing the global expansion of Protected Media, which Flashtalking had acquired, for brand safety and verification. Kartzman was the former CEO and co-founder of Spongecell, and led that company for a decade through its acquisition by Flashtalking in 2018. He reports to Nick Galassi, Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer.
Stephanie Dorman
Named Chief Customer Officer, Stephanie reports to Lance Neuhauser, President, Commercial. Over her decade-long tenure at Mediaocean, Stephanie had global oversight of customer experience, knowledge, and project services, and more recently held the title Chief People Officer. Dorman leads the global customer success teams spanning all Mediaocean solutions and stakeholders including 100,000+ product users.
Drew Kane
Previously Chief Customer Officer, Drew has been named Chief Transformation Officer, reporting to Galassi. This is a new position focused on change management and adoption with customers using the modern Mediaocean cloud-based platform. Kane has been part of the Mediaocean team for 15 years.
Nicole Brown
A 16-year Mediaocean veteran, Nicole has been named SVP, People & Culture, also reporting to Galassi. Her responsibilities include building company culture with a focus on DE&I and talent acquisition. In her previous role as VP, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Brown launched Mediaocean’s Global Mentorship program, which has had more than 400 participants, and was also responsible for launching the company’s employee rewards and recognitions program.
