OPS Wrap Up: A conversation with Tom Bowman and Dave Katz

About the Session – In Conversation

Rob Beeler
Vice President, Content & Media, AdMonsters

AdMonsters’ Rob Beeler will moderate a conversation between Dave Katz, MD of Ybrant Digital, and Tom Bowman, VP Sales Operations for BBC Worldwide that is sure to generate some controversy. Topics will touch on how online advertising has evolved and what the future holds. 

Specifically, they will examine the impact of the new market-driven economy on publishers, who owns–or should own–audience data, and how buyers and sellers can work together the maintain growth in online advertising. Together they will try to identify ways in which business leaders throughout the ecosystem can leverage operations and technology to increase profit and profitability.

Tom Bowman
VP Strategy & Operations Global Advertising Sales, BBC Worldwide

Tom heads the team who advise internal clients and stakeholders across all BBC Worldwide’s platforms. These include BBC Global Channels and BBC World News on TV, online with the BBC’s international ad funded website BBC.com and its corresponding international mobile site. The team advises internal clients on ad sales strategy and is also responsible for Sales Operations and Custom solutions across TV, digital and mobile.

Tom joined BBC Worldwide in November 2007 as the Vice President of International Advertising Sales for BBC.com. Prior to joining BBC Worldwide, Tom held a number of commercial roles at MSN including leading the global sales team, opening new markets and heading up the EMEA sales team. Prior to his time at MSN, Tom was the launch sales director for Yahoo! in the UK.

Dave Katz
Managing Director UK, Ybrant Digital

Dave Katz has been in the digital ad industry since 1999, when he began his online career at i-level.  After 3 years working his way up from Exec level to lower management, he began his first efforts at running his own business, setting up Katzy Communications Limited as a marketing consultancy.  His main client at that time was Premierbet, a football-only, web-only bookmaking  firm.  After about a year, Premierbet’s requirements outgrew his capabilities and Dave moved to Advertising.com where he eventually headed up their UK Publisher Services division. 

Two years after joining ad.com, Dave joined MPG MediaContacts as their first Head of Display Trading.  Dave enjoyed close to 5 years at MPG, during which the agency changed and mutated from being the biggest small agency to being the smallest big agency.  This was not entirely down to Dave, but he likes to take a lot of the credit for winning clients such as BBC, Nationwide, AXA, Hyundai, Kia and Sportingindex. 

Before taking the reigns at Ybrant Digital UK, Dave spent a very happy 9-months working for himself once again on a variety of projects, some work related, others charity and music-based, before he leapt at the chance to become the MD at Ybrant. 

Dave describes his role at Ybrant Digital UK as being ultimately responsible for everything from taking out the rubbish to delivering  P&L, and everything in the middle.  This, he enjoys.