Home Ad Exchange News Key Hires At Commerce Startup Profitero; WPP To Shutter Triad

Key Hires At Commerce Startup Profitero; WPP To Shutter Triad

SHARE:

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.

Third Time’s A Charm

Bryan Wiener and Sarah Hofstetter joined the ecommerce software company Profitero as CEO and president, respectively. This is the third business Wiener and Hofstetter have jointly led, following their long tenure at 360i before it was acquired by Dentsu and their short stint at Comscore – which ended after a year due to “irreconcilable differences” with the board. Profitero is a pre-profit startup, unlike Comscore, so the pair may have more control over the road map. One new product they plan to introduce with Profitero is Amazon ad campaign management by expanding on the company’s market share analytics, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Triad To Work It Out

WPP will shutter retail media agency Triad within 90 days. Some employees have already been laid off, and others will stay for a transition period, according to Ad Age sources. WPP bought Triad in 2016 for a reported $300 million to grow its ecommerce business under Xaxis. But when flagship client Walmart started in-housing ad sales and tech last year, Triad’s number was up. In late 2019, Walmart-owned Sam’s Club acquired some of Triad’s ad tech IP and a few of its executives. More.

Commerce Dreams

Google will change its shopping search portal this month, eliminating most ad units and elevating free, organic results. Amazon has frustrated some merchants by deprioritizing their deliveries and removing affiliate channels, and Google is trying to seize on that momentum to entice sellers and manufacturers into setting up Merchant Center accounts (which is how ecommerce products can qualify for free search exposure), Reuters reports. Google balked at the multibillion-dollar investment in delivery and customer service that would have been needed to compete with Amazon in commerce, so it will rely on search instead. “It’s daunting the amount of capital and expertise it would take to run such a business,” said Jon Venverloh, former Google shopping director who left last summer.

But Wait, There’s More!

You’re Hired!

Must Read

Viant Had A Good Q4, But Still Needs To Punch Up At Bigger Platforms

Viant reported its Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings on Wednesday evening and investors appeared pleased.

Puzzle pieces connected together. Two puzzle pieces with cables coming together on yellow background. Problem solving concept, business solutions and ideas. Vector illustration.

The Boring Infrastructure That Could Make Agentic AI Happen For Ad Tech

AI agents are moving fast, but MadConnect says ad tech’s slow, messy plumbing still needs an overhaul before agentic marketing can really work.

Understanding MCP, The ‘Universal Adapter’ For AI In Advertising

Your TL;DR on MCP, the open standard that lets AI models connect to tools, remember context and run workflows across platforms.

Privacy! Commerce! Connected TV! Read all about it. Subscribe to AdExchanger Newsletters

YouTube Americas Leader Tara Walpert Levy Says Measurement Proves Creators Do TV Ads Best

“We are focused on being where the world watches video,” said Tara Walpert Levy, YouTube’s VP, Americas at the Convergent TV conference in NYC on Thursday. “And to us that now is TV.”

Paramount Skydance Is Trying To Buy WBD. Now What?

Late last week, Netflix walked away from plans to acquire Warner Bros., clearing the way for Paramount Skydance to scoop up the whole company with its hostile takeover bid.

Sallie Has An Ad Business And Meta Is Declining Credit Cards

Sallie, the major issuer of US education loans, is getting into the retail media network business.