Kirk McDonald of PubMatic on the Education System of Afghanistan
PubMatic in one of the Ad Networks used by Film Annex.com, and they recently raised a $45 million round led by August Capital. Previous investors include brand name firms such as Draper Fisher
Jurvetson, Nexus Venture Partners, Helion Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank. PubMatic helps publishers manage their display ad inventory.
Kirk McDonald is the President of Pubmatic, and in this film he explains how it was founded, as a response to publishers' needs of innovative technologies. Pubmatic is a technology provider for those publishers and help them share content and build a relationship with their audience. Kirk also talks about:
- social media as a new form of conversation and engagement with the audience;
- that online advertising is an opportunity in the digital world to monetize connections.
- that social media can really help developing countries such as Afghanistan and Central Asia by taking down barriers and helping young people to realize their potential, and
- that social media will provide the fuel to allow them to rise and reconnect with the rest of the world.
He finishes by talking about Film Annex's Afghan Development Project and how impressed he has been by the project and its impact.
More about Kirk McDonald:
Kirk McDonald joined PubMatic in October 2011, bringing more than two decades of experience across a range of premier media brands including Time Inc., CNET, Ziff Davis and Conde Nast. As President of the company, Kirk is driving the next stage of PubMatic's growth.
Before joining PubMatic, Kirk was President of Digital at Time Inc, where he brought together the company's digital assets to deliver audience and brand solutions to clients. Prior to Time Digital, he was CEO of the Fortune|Money Group, where he oversaw worldwide advertising sales and integrated marketing. Prior to his leadership position at Fortune|Money, Kirk was Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Client Services for DRIVEpm and Atlas, which were both key units of Microsoft's advertising business. In addition, Kirk spent nine years at CNET, where he was the Senior Vice President of network sales, and developed hugely successful strategic partnerships with the top tier of technology marketers.
Kirk serves on several professional and not-for-profit boards. He's an advisor on the LUMA Partners board and the Chairman of a small not-for-profit, Camp Interactive, which empowers inner city youth through the inspiration of the outdoors and the creative power of technology.