OpenWeb today announced the appointment of Mark Howard as its Chief Business Officer. Howard brings a wealth of experience in the media business, most recently serving as Chief Advertising & Partnerships Officer at Penske Media Corporation, and previously a 17-year tenure at Forbes, where he rose to Chief Revenue Officer, a role he served in for six years.
Howard’s more than two decades of experience will serve as an invaluable asset to the OpenWeb executive team as they bring to life their vision for a more sustainable, healthier internet. In this role, Howard will guide the trajectory of OpenWeb’s business development and continued partnership with media companies and brands, helping them build loyal communities and leverage their zero and first party data. He will serve as a key member of the executive team, reporting to co-founder and CEO Nadav Shoval and overseeing a team across the United States, Canada, and EMEA.
“Mark is an incredible strategic leader in our industry. A highly experienced executive with deep knowledge of the media business—I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Mark to the team at this crucial point in our growth,” said Shoval. “Mark joining the team will accelerate OpenWeb’s growth and our mission to create a healthier, more sustainable web that benefits all stakeholders.”
In addition to his vast experience at media companies, Howard served on the IAB Board of Directors for eight years. In that role, he collaborated with other influential members of the media and advertising world, setting standards for best practices across the digital advertising landscape.
“Since the beginning of my career, I’ve been passionate about helping companies grow and thrive in the changing and increasingly competitive media landscape,” said Mark Howard, Chief Business Officer at OpenWeb. “Creating models for growth and sustainability is an essential task for the survival of media and journalism, and for the future of a healthy, open internet. Applying my experience and knowledge to the incredible scale of OpenWeb’s platform—one with still so much room to grow—is a truly exciting opportunity.”
In this role he will be responsible for overseeing OpenWeb’s Supply and Demand sales teams, with the goal of onboarding new publisher partners and advertisers into OpenWeb’s network.
In the first four months of 2022, OpenWeb made the strategic acquisition of Hive Media Group for $60M in January, followed closely by its $100M deal to acquire ADYOULIKE, announced in April.