Our ‘Profile: A Day in the Life of’ feature takes a look at some of the global professionals working across performance marketing. It aims to shed light on the varying roles and companies across the flourishing industry. This week we head to London to meet Andrew Buckman, MD EMEA at OpenX.
In one sentence, how would you describe your company?
OpenX’s unified monetisation platform combines an ad server, a real-time bidding (RTB) ad exchange and a supply side platform to deliver the highest revenue across every digitally connected screen.
What are the company’s unique selling points?
We are the industry leader in inventory quality. We are shifting the way publishers optimise their ability to generate revenue by utilising our Demand Fusion technology, which allows them to pitch RTB demand and Ad Networks in the same auction.
Within the last six months / year, what stands out as the company’s major milestones?
OpenX had a number of major milestones in 2014: exceeding $100 million of net revenue, growing the company’s core monetisation business (encompassing the OpenX Ad Exchange and the OpenX SSP) 70% year-over-year and welcoming a number of notable new clients. In addition, OpenX further cemented its position as the industry leader with the highest quality inventory. OpenX recently earned the top spot in the Pixalate Global Seller Trust Index for running the highest quality exchange inventory. Pixalate’s Global Seller Trust Index is the industry’s first comprehensive RTB quality rating standard, evaluating RTB quality from more than 400 active exchanges and ad networks.
Duration in current role:
This is week seven – still going strong!
Where are you based?
I’m a weekday Londoner and jet off to the balmy climes of the Parisian suburbs at the weekend for my dose of cheese, wine and family life.
Previous performance marketing-related companies you have worked at:
I was part of the generation that introduced Europe to search marketing at Overture/Yahoo before moving on to Criteo and then Tradedoubler.
What are your main job responsibilities?
I run all OpenX commercial activities in the EMEA region and have the remit to grow that from our London and Munich offices across Europe and into the Middle East and Africa.
Take us through what you get up to on a typical working Monday:
I start off by silently, but virulently, cursing my 4 am alarm call before dragging myself to London on the Eurostar where I’ll prepare for my tasks ahead in between mouthfuls of porridge. Monday is all about understanding the business and planning the week. We kick off the week in the office with a 15 minute stand-up to let everyone know where we’re at and what’s expected - on a good day I’ll bring croissants. By the time I’ve caught up with the European team the US comes online and it all starts again. Most Mondays end with a fish and chip supper with my commercial director, which is a great way to do a regular catch-up.
What top three websites can you be found browsing during your lunch hour?
Strava, Strava and Strava
What are your top three tips for someone looking to get their hands on a job like yours?
- Know your numbers – a deep understanding of the drivers of your business is a fundamental requirement for managing multiple revenue streams.
- Know your people – work hard at communicating up and down and knowing what makes everyone tick. Your team is the most visible representation of your talents as a leader and your management can’t be left to second guess what you’re up to.
- Know your priorities – your to-do list will consistently run to dozens of really important things that absolutely have to be done right now or the business will fail horribly. Pick five.
Career-wise where do you see yourself in three years’ time?
Are you kidding? My boss reads this!
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you:
I have a tendency to register them for Tough Mudder type races and tell them I’m taking them on a “team building activity”. There might be beer.