Executive Team

Mike Baker

Co-Founder, President and CEO

Mike is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has made DataXu a leader in digital marketing management solutions. Before DataXu, Mike was a vice president at Nokia, where he created and ran Nokia Interactive. He came to Nokia through its acquisition of pioneering mobile media company Enpocket, where he was the founding investor and CEO. He has also been executive vice president at CMGI and Engage Technologies, early internet IPOs. Along the way, Mike was a corporate partner at a venture capital firm, and a telecom and media lawyer in Washington, DC. An angel investor in over 20 companies, he is currently Chairman of the Board of Nexage, a mobile advertising solutions provider.

Geoff Dodge

Executive Vice President of Sales

Geoff Dodge has a long history of technology and publishing leadership, and is responsible for DataXu’s explosive growth in new and existing markets. Before joining DataXu, Geoff served as senior vice president, media and communications for Salesforce.com. Previously, he served as senior vice president and publisher of BusinessWeek, responsible for setting and implementing the overall sales and marketing strategy for BusinessWeek’s print, online and event properties. While at BusinessWeek, BtoB magazine named Geoff the Most Innovative Consumer Magazine Publisher for 2005. Geoff also served as president and CEO of Media Space Solutions, a newspaper advertising planning and placement firm, where he currently serves as a Board member. He also held executive sales and publishing roles at Time Inc., including serving as a Publisher at Money magazine.

Willard Simmons

Co-Founder, Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Willard (Bill) Simmons is the brain behind DataXu’s core technology, which he developed while earning his PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. Bill came to DataXu with true rocket science credentials: he developed and tested real-time flight software for guidance, navigation and control of the Atlas family of space launch vehicles. He is an expert in optimal system design and in developing reliable real-time software ­– skills he put to use when he co-founded DataXu.

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Gerard Keating

Chief Operating Officer

Gerard Keating ensures that DataXu’s innovations are executed successfully and deliver real value to our clients. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise in building data-driven advertising systems to DataXu. Prior to joining DataXu, Gerard served as CTO and vice president of development at Enpocket, a mobile advertising platform. While at Enpocket, Gerard guided R&D concepts into successful products. After Nokia acquired Enpocket, Gerard was tapped to head product development at Nokia Interactive Advertising. Previously, he was director of engineering at Engage Technologies, where he led the development of the industry’s first consumer behavioral profiling software.

Rich Forcier

Chief Financial Officer

Rich Forcier has extensive experience in the financial and operational management of high-growth private and public technology companies, and is responsible for leading corporate development, finance and administration as DataXu continues to expand both domestically and into new global markets. Prior to DataXu, Rich held senior finance leadership positions and was instrumental in the growth and sale of three enterprise technology companies: Precise Software Solutions (PRSE), an application performance management company acquired by Veritas Software (VRTS); Maker Communications (MAKR), a semiconductor company focused on networking switches acquired by Conexant Systems (CNXT); and Tenebril, a security and privacy software company acquired by Halo Technology holdings (HALO). Rich also serves as an Advisor for Hack/Reduce, a Boston-based organization dedicated to creating the talent and the technologies that will shape our future in a big data-driven economy.

Bruce Journey

Co-Founder, Managing Director, International

Bruce Journey is taking DataXu global, ensuring that brands and advertisers can reach their audience in any region. Bruce is a proven leader in the media business with extensive experience building some of the world’s leading consumer media brands. Prior to co-founding DataXu, Bruce served as president and CEO of MIT’s Technology Review, Inc. – an independent media company recognized as the world’s most authoritative voice on emerging technologies and their commercial impact. His decade of leadership at Technology Review created a multiple-award-winning brand that remains a leader in chronicling innovation. Prior to Technology Review, he was a member of the sales management team at Time Inc., at both the Time and Fortune brands.

Sandro Catanzaro

Co-Founder, Senior Vice President of Analytics and Innovation

Sandro Catanzaro is the kind of technologist and data science virtuoso whose knowledge of business issues shapes the DataXu platform’s ability to gain marketing insights from customer data. Drawing on his business and science background, he co-invented the real-time optimization algorithm at the core of the DataXu platform. Sandro earned two Master’s degrees from MIT – one from the Sloan School of Management, the other from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Prior to attending MIT, Sandro launched several successful businesses in his native South America, including one that was acquired by Unilever.

David Rubinstein

Senior Vice President, Services

David Rubinstein is DataXu’s chief customer advocate, maximizing our customers’ success by fully harnessing the power of DataXu. David has a wealth of experience ensuring software companies do services right, and a successful track record of rapidly scaling service organizations to meet the growing demands in the marketplace. David’s entrepreneurial background includes the development of leading consulting practices in CRM and Business Intelligence and several successful exits, including one IPO. Prior to joining DataXu, David served as COO at Resolve Technology, where he led the transformation of the company into the leading platform provider of Business Intelligence and Analytics tools for the Commercial Real Estate.

Aaron Kechley

Senior Vice President, Products

Aaron Kechley is the product innovator who brings DataXu’s vision of data-enabled marketing to fruition, creating a platform that gives advanced analytics capabilities to non-quantitative employees. Rooted firmly in technology and business strategy, Aaron’s experience spans numerous industries, from consumer finance and security, to e-commerce and advertising technology. Prior to DataXu, he held leadership roles at EMC and several venture-backed start-ups, including ChoiceStream and HelloWallet.com. Aaron began his career as an economist at the Federal Reserve Board, where he first developed his passion for understanding the intersections of marketplace efficiency and technology.