Mike Laband has spent 15 years at Magnite, and he's got the perspective to prove it was worth it. From the SpotX days through mergers, acquisitions, and complete industry transformations, he's had a front-row seat to ad tech's evolution - and built real expertise by staying through the changes. He jokes about being a "dinosaur" for the longevity, but what he's really describing is someone who understands how the pieces connect, who remembers when mobile programmatic suddenly became unforecastable revenue in 2014, and who can spot where the industry's heading next because he's seen these patterns before.
Between discussing industry evolution and mentioning his golf game that helps him recharge and connect with people, there's career advice that resonates: sometimes you need to sit back, read the trades, and understand what's shaping the market instead of just diving in at full speed. Watch to see what 15 years of ad tech transformation looks like from someone who's lived it all.
Mike Laband: Curation's Hot Moment 🔥
- 15-Year Magnite Veteran: Self-described "dinosaur" for staying at the same company for 15 years, came from the SpotX team through mergers and acquisitions, starting in quality assurance and working his way to revenue 🦕
- Curation Hot Topic Leader: At Advertising Week, focused on curation as an evolving tactic leveraged by both buy and sell sides, with Magnite positioned to enable more through their Clear Line tool set 🔥
- Agentic Workflows Future: Discussing where agentic workflows will fit into the curation evolution and how buyers are increasingly leveraging supply-side tools at the cusp of continued growth 🤖
- Golf Enthusiast: Pretty decent golfer on the side, uses it to check out from work, meet people, and travel to great places ⛳
- Sit Back and Learn Philosophy: Career advice is to take time to read the trades and understand market shifts - remembers 2014 when mobile programmatic integration wasn't even forecastable, now the business is heavily programmatic 📚
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☀️Tomorrow on ATM
She's in "HERR-ERA" right now ✨
XOXO,
