An industry-recognized subject matter expert in ad tech and media activation and planning, Harold Geller is a prominent technology figure in the advertising and media sectors who consistently positions his companies for competitive advantage by championing technology initiatives as a large and critical part of a company’s growth strategy.
Highly skilled in improving interoperability and metadata in the advertising and marketing supply chain and within digital workflows, he knows how to engage and connect communities with common interests by capitalizing on best-of-breed media, administrative, research, and client connectivity technology.
Most recently as the Executive Director at Advertising Digital Identification, LLC (Ad-ID), Harold skyrocketed the company’s customer base to ~4,000 -- from <100 advertisers/agencies, the industry standard. Proficient in engaging in conversations that live at the intersection of business needs and technology solutions, he triggered exponential business and revenue growth for Ad-ID by selling major industry players such as NBCUniversal, IAB Tech Lab, and SAG-AFTRA on the business benefits of incorporating Ad-ID technology into their existing processes and systems.
Able to attract and retain the most talented team members, Harold grew his organization to 10 high-impact performers in support of strategic initiatives while providing mentorship, inspiration, and motivation to raise the bar in innovation.
As a tech-savvy media executive, Harold’s work has been critical to the industry, because digital media growth is accelerating at a very fast pace.
Focused on managing upwards, he gained deep insight into the needs of management and kept leadership informed on both opportunities and challenges as he mobilized his team to develop tools and a product roadmap for its revolutionary broadcast data service, ConfirMedia; this first-ever system enabled third party airplay verification and advertising campaign reconciliation services across all major U.S. TV, cable, and radio networks as well as local TV and radio stations.
With a quick-firing mind and ability to see connections that others miss, Harold was frequently called into sales meetings as the linchpin to winning exclusive agreements with the likes of The Ad Council and DG Systems, Inc.
While at Mindshare Inc., a GroupM division that contributes a large majority of GroupM/WPP's global marketing billings and campaigns, Harold stepped into a newly created role to launch and steer the company’s technology organization that is credited with developing the acclaimed media planning tool that standardized the chart format of media plan presentations in 40 countries around the globe. He and his team built the company’s reputation as the leading media technology organization in its space.
During his prolific tenure with Ogilvy & Mather Canada, Harold selected, implemented, and maintained syndicated agency systems as the IT Manager and later relocated to NY to progress as Manager – Strategic Business & Media Applications with Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide. Always looking at the end-to-end implications of a project, he shaped strategies for development projects and agency use while engineering core business applications.
Prior to this, he functioned as Manager, Media Information & Systems at Foster / McCann Advertising, where he saved on in-house costs by switching to an outsourced media/production/finance system. Earlier as Senior Broadcast Buyer at Foster Advertising and Ted Bates Advertising in Toronto, he optimized the performance of up to 7-person teams purchasing TV & radio advertising time.
Harold holds a Diploma in Radio & Television Broadcasting (with Honors) from Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology in Toronto, Canada, and is a Certified Brand Safety Officer.
A key member of several industry affiliations and committees, he serves as the resident Advertising Thought Leader at SPROCKIT and previously served as a Board Member for the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) for nine years and Chairman of the 4As Media Technology Committee for four years.
An articulate public speaker and writer, he has written many blog articles and co-authored seven white papers on marketing supply chain, digital workflow, interoperability, and metadata in advertising and media.
