Retail media. Data analytics. Connected TV. Omnichannel marketing. The advertising industry has never been more varied and vibrant, and it’s never required a stronger vision to reach its next chapter. For our second year running, we at Highwire are celebrating Women’s History Month by highlighting some of the most prominent and inspiring women at the forefront of adtech.
Don’t mistake our premise — these eleven are the rule, not the exception. Women are shaping adtech at every level and across every sector. Even once March is over, we’ll keep looking to see how their contributions are defining the present and future of adtech. This is just the beginning.
Highwire's Ones to Watch: Women in Adtech
Cathy Oh
Samsung Electronics, Chief Marketing Officer, Service Business and Samsung Ads
After nearly ten years in various positions across Samsung Ads, Cathy’s pioneering work has helped propel the organization from a newcomer into a leader in the Advanced TV sector. Beyond being synonymous with Samsung Ads’ success, Cathy’s track record of developing global brands sets her apart.
Christine Chung
Disney, Director, Advanced Analytics and Data Solutions
Christine has applied her analytics expertise across a broad set of industries. She’s helping to shape Disney’s cookieless future as director of The Walt Disney Company’s clean room solutions. Her team specializes in applying transformative technology and Disney’s one-of-a-kind approach to storytelling to help brands connect with audiences.
Jillian Burnett
mParticle by Rokt, Chief Customer Officer
Jillian celebrated her nine-year anniversary with mParticle this year, having spent the better part of the last decade building a team that serves customers around the world. Now, as the customer experience company merges with Rokt, Jillian’s looking forward to even more opportunities to help brands build relevance and create lasting connections.
Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan
Snowflake, Senior Director, Product Management, Engineering
A serial founder, Kamakshi’s latest creation — Samooha — is now empowering Snowflake as its Data Clean Rooms service. While the tools her team offers are of immense value to marketers and advertisers, Kamakshi is also a true believer in the power of secure data collaboration and data clean rooms across industries.
Kristi Argyilan
Uber, Global Head of Uber Advertising
With her recent move from supermarket giant Albertsons to Uber, Kristi has secured her status as the “godmother of retail media.” Her push for standardization across the industry could help open the door for a new age of more helpful and accessible advertising, while her commitment to retail media fundamentals proves she isn’t losing sight of what works.
Lindsey Blue
PubMatic, Director, Advertiser Solutions
Named one of Cynopsis’ Top Women in Media and one of Business Insider’s 33 rising stars of adtech in 2024, Lindsey Blue’s star is rising fast. Her career at PubMatic has been similarly impressive, going from Senior Account Executive at the programmatic advertising tech firm in 2020 to Associate Director in 2022 to her current role as Director of Advertising Solutions in March 2024.
Jyoti Vaidee
Reddit, Vice President of Ads Product
Jyoti has held key roles at Google, YouTube, Google Shopping, and Microsoft, and now plays a pivotal role at Reddit, leading Reddit’s Ads Products as the business continues to scale globally. As a driving force behind Reddit’s monetization engine, she brings high-value industry insights and is definitely one to watch.
Sarah (Werner) Harms
Roku, Vice President, Advertising Marketing and Measurement
With the explosive growth of free ad-supported TV (FAST) and The Roku Channel’s position as one of the fastest-growing FAST services, Sarah has one of the most exciting and enviable positions in modern adtech. Her smart synopsis of how “lean back” viewing is making a comeback and what that means for advertisers is required reading.
Toccara Baker
TripleLift, Vice President, Marketing
Another Business Insider Rising Star of AdTech, Toccara stands at the head of TripleLift’s programs. Her company is focused on building an SSP where creativity is the driving force behind performance, which means Toccara’s work is all about finding new innovations. Her expertise across AR, video marketing, and other competencies are all helping to push the firm and industry forward.
Verna DeJesus
The Trade Desk, Vice President, Connected TV
Verna is a leader at The Trade Desk, which means she works with advertisers to help spread their messages across connected TV platforms. Yet she’s keeping her focus squarely on providing the best possible experience for consumers: fewer ads that hew more closely to viewer interests means a better viewing experience and better results for advertisers.
Nikila Srinivasan
Meta, Vice President, Product Management, Business Messaging
Nikila oversees the Business Messaging product group, building innovative solutions that help businesses connect with people through WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram Direct. With previous leadership roles at Instacart and Facebook, she brings a sharp edge in monetizing and scaling products and driving international growth. A true industry trailblazer, Nikila is pushing the boundaries of business messaging and is definitely one to watch.
