Bill Wise
CEO
Bill Wise is CEO of Mediaocean, the largest independent advertising technology company in the world. Mediaocean process approximately $130 billion in annual ad spend across all media channels, from television to print to out-of-home to radio to all forms of digital. Bill has spent over a decade leading and unleashing the potential of revolutionary advertising technologies, overseeing more than $3 billion in mergers, acquisitions, and public offerings during that time. He comes to Mediaocean from his role as CEO of media systems provider MediaBank, which, along with Donovan Data Systems/DDS, was one of Mediaocean’s two founding companies.
Immediately prior to MediaBank, he served as SVP/GM, ad platforms & global exchange at Yahoo—a role he achieved after serving as president of Right Media, which he helped guide to Yahoo acquisition in 2007. His other executive leadership positions extend across organizations including DoubleClick, MaxOnline and Ask, which became part of IAC Advertising Solutions.
Bill is on the board of directors of AddThis and the AdCouncil. He has been ranked by Business Insider as a top digital professional three times. He is a sought-after speaker and his articles are frequently published in leading publications such as AdWeek, AdAge and the Wall Street Journal. He holds a BS in Accounting & Business from the University at Albany and is a CPA.
You can follow Bill on twitter at @billwise
Michael Donovan
Executive Chairman
A true advertising technology pioneer, Michael laid the framework for many of today’s sophisticated media platforms as early as the mid-1960s. He comes to Mediaocean from his role as founder, worldwide chairman and CEO of Donovan Data Systems/DDS, one of Mediaocean’s two founding companies (along with MediaBank). Born in Panama and raised in Costa Rica and Peru, Michael graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in engineering. He continued his studies at MIT with an MS in computers and business. After a year at IBM in New York, in 1965 Michael saw an opportunity to go out on his own as an independent programming consultant. Two years later, he started DDS.
John Bauschard
President, Platforms
John oversees development and adoption of Mediaocean’s next-generation systems for the global marketing industry. Immediately prior, he served as President/COO at MediaBank, joining the company in the pre-revenue development stage. While at MediaBank he built the first generation integrated digital workflow system. He went on to start the company’s marketplaces division, creating a revolutionary open market technology for media buyers and sellers. Prior to MediaBank, he held leadership roles at IBM and CA Technology. John began his career as a consultant at KPMG. John holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BBA cum laude from Loyola University, and is a CPA.
Nick Galassi
President, Agency Systems
Nick oversees all engineering and development, infrastructure, product management, and professional services across Mediaocean’s global Agency Systems business. He comes to Mediaocean from the role of President, Agency systems at MediaBank. Prior to joining MediaBank, he was CFO of InnerWorkings, Inc. (NASDAQ:INWK), a leading global provider of managed print and promotional solutions, where he was instrumental to the company’s successful IPO in 2006. Nick’s earlier roles included VP of Finance at Wolverine Trading, one of the largest equity and options firms in the US; and Finance Director at Halo Industries (NYSE:HMK). Nick graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame, and is a CPA.
Operational Leadership
Don Baker
CIO
Don builds the systems infrastructure behind both Mediaocean’s global client offerings and its internal teams. Don is formerly CTO at print and fulfillment organization Innerworkings (NYSE:INWK), where he oversaw the company’s technology operations—including critical ecommerce and reporting systems—spanning 40 countries. Before his time at Innerworkings he was CIO at MediaBank, a role he came to from his position as SVP of IT Operations at online brokerage optionsXpress (part of Charles Schwab since 2011). He began his career as a systems consultant with Compuware (NASDAQ: CPWR). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana State University.
Ann-Marie Beals
Senior Vice President/GM, Product
Working closely with Mediaocean’s clients and partners, Ann-Marie is responsible for end-to-end engineering and development of Media, Client Accounting, Production, Accounting, Traffic and Rep systems for agencies and media sellers. She comes to Mediaocean from DDS, where, throughout her 21-plus years at the company, she provided critical leadership in the development of the Client Accounting and Spot systems and helped build several of DDS’s central developer teams. Ann-Marie graduated from MIT with a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering.
David Bigler
VP, Platform Business Operations
David is responsible for delivering Mediaocean’s global digital platforms and next-generation systems. He works closely with teams across the organization to align Mediaocean’s technology development with customer needs, market demands, and Mediaocean’s own strategic path. Prior to this role, David was VP of Technical Operations at MediaBank, where he led coordination between the development, product management, and quality assurance groups. David has held multiple management roles across a variety of companies including Echo Global Logistics and InnerWorkings. David holds an MBA, magna cum laude, from the University of Illinois in Chicago, a BBA cum laude from Loyola University in Chicago, and is a C.P.A.
David Oliveira
SVP & GM of Marketplaces
Dave provides optimal efficiency solutions and programmatic buying technologies for independent, mid-size and small agencies. Dave comes to Mediaocean from his role as SVP, National Sales at Demand Media. Prior to Demand, Dave held multiple Regional VP Sales roles at Yahoo! in both the Northwest and Midwest areas. A twenty-year veteran in the media, digital, and ad tech fields, he holds a BA in Marketing from Northern Illinois University and an MBA in Finance from DePaul. He lives in Chicago with his wife and three children.
Gordon H. Cohen
Senior Vice President/ GM, Product
Gordon is responsible for technology, engineering and development, product management, and quality assurance for Mediaocean’s O|X and A|V agency systems products. He joins Mediaocean from the role of EVP, Technology at MediaBank—which he came to through MediaBank’s 2007 acquisition of Datatech Software, where he was a VP and Partner. Joining Datatech in 1989, Gordon was tasked with developing Bill/Pay across the company’s media products and served as the chief architect of its Direct Response product. Gordon started his career at CJDS, now Harris Corporation, in 1983. He graduated from the State University of New York, Plattsburgh with a B.S. in Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics.
Linda Brzezinski
Senior Vice President, Human Resources
In addition to extensive experience in HR and Recruitment, Linda brings 20 years’ experience in leadership across Information Technology Operations, M&A Integration, Sales and Accounting—giving her unique insight into the crossroads of people, process, and technology. She comes to Mediaocean from the role of VP of Operations at MediaBank, where she led the company’s total Operational and HR efforts. Prior to MediaBank, Linda was National Director of Resource Management & Operations at SilverTrain (now Sagence) a business performance management consultancy. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration: Management Information Systems (MIS) with a concentration in Accounting from Robert Morris University; and a degree in Specialized Business with a major in Business Administration & Management.
Mike Begley
Chief Financial Officer
Responsible for all finances for Mediaocean’s global operations, Mike comes to Mediaocean from the role of Chief Financial Officer of DDS. As Chief Financial Officer, Mike was responsible for DDS’ worldwide financial management, reporting, taxation, and legal oversight. Prior to joining DDS in 2002, Mike held various senior leadership roles with major international service companies including Davis Polk & Wardell and PricewaterhouseCoopers. A CPA, Mike holds a BS in Accounting from the City University of New York.
Ray Lear
SVP of Infrastructure
Ray oversees the worldwide IT operations that enable all Mediaocean partner-facing technology, as well as the company’s internal IT needs. He comes to Mediaocean from DDS, which he joined in the UK following six years in the Royal Navy. As a Royal Navy Radar Operator, he managed mission-critical systems on board military vessels as well as within NATO Headquarters in London. Managing DDS’s telecommunications and internal support departments since 1989, Ray became DDS’ Global Operations Director in January, 2008.
Vedant Sampath
Chief Technology Officer
Vedant is tasked with building Mediaocean’s universal platform for the marketing industry. Immediately prior to joining Mediaocean, Vedant was CTO at Operative, where he spearheaded engineering of the company’s open business management platform for media sellers. Prior to Operative, Vedant served as VP of Software Development at Oracle for the company’s Financial Consolidation and Reporting product line, a leading financial software used by enterprise businesses globally. He came to Oracle through Hyperion Solutions—acquired by Oracle in 2007—where, as VP of Product Management, he led integration for the company’s $142M acquisition of Brio Technology. Vedant holds an MS in Engineering from University of California, Berkeley.
