Nexxen Names Chance Johnson as President Amid Adtech Platform’s Next Growth Phase
Nexxen has promoted Chance Johnson to president as the advertising technology company seeks to accelerate growth around its unified platform, proprietary data and connected TV capabilities.
Johnson, previously Nexxen’s chief commercial officer, will focus on strengthening relationships with strategic clients and partners. Based in New York, he will work closely with Chief Executive Officer Ofer Druker.
The company also named Kara Puccinelli chief commercial officer, succeeding Johnson in that role, and Kenneth Suh chief business officer.
“The Nexxen team has been hard at work developing a unified platform with proprietary data and exclusive media at its core, and we have crossed the threshold where its value only compounds,” Druker said in announcing the appointments.
Johnson said his new role will center on translating Nexxen’s technology and data investments into deeper commercial relationships.
“I have had a front row seat to Nexxen’s deliberate and unwavering efforts in platform unification, product innovation, strategic partnership and brand maturation,” Johnson said. “As President, my focus is simple: create partnerships and enhance relationships, so our clients can capitalize on the advantages we provide.”
A case for convergence
Johnson’s promotion puts him in charge of advancing a strategy he outlined last year during a conversation with Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at the Beet Retreat LA in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
Then serving as chief commercial officer, Johnson argued that convergence in advertising technology was becoming necessary as marketers and publishers grappled with fragmented supply paths, competing incentives and growing operational complexity.
His argument was that bringing demand, supply and data closer together can improve transparency and align incentives, provided that convergence is handled responsibly. Nexxen has sought to do that by unifying its demand-side and supply-side platforms around a common data layer.
That strategy is taking on greater importance as marketers look for more control over their data and clearer connections between advertising spending and business results.
First-party data needs somewhere to go
Johnson also cautioned at the Beet Retreat against treating first-party data as a cure-all.
Brands increasingly want ownership and control of their customer information, but collecting data is only part of the challenge. It also needs to work across platforms and channels.
Interoperability is critical, Johnson said, while the cost and complexity of managing data, governance and compliance can overwhelm companies that try to handle everything internally.
“Most brands simply don’t have the bandwidth,” he said.
Johnson advocated a hybrid model in which brands maintain control of their first-party data while using technology partners to ingest, enrich and activate it at greater scale.
SSPs have to earn their keep
Johnson also rejected the characterization of supply-side platforms as mere middlemen. But he acknowledged that SSPs need to provide more than what he called “generic pipes.”
He said platforms can justify their role by improving transparency, enriching publisher signals, bringing incremental demand and increasing the portion of advertisers’ spending that reaches working media.
That ties into a broader industry push toward supply-path optimization. Johnson said the advertising business had made progress in rooting out low-quality inventory, including made-for-advertising sites, but warned that optimization efforts can become too focused on obtaining the cheapest impression.
“We should be asking whether an impression drives positive results,” Johnson said, rather than focusing primarily on where it appeared or how little it cost.
AI shifts the focus toward outcomes
Johnson also pointed to artificial intelligence and better measurement as tools for shifting the industry from correlation toward incrementality, or determining whether an advertisement actually caused a change in consumer behavior.
Predictive AI can make optimization decisions at a speed no human media team could match, he said. That could leave marketers with more time for strategy and creative work instead of wrestling with the machinery behind campaign execution.
“That’s a positive result for the people doing the work and for the businesses they’re trying to grow,” Johnson said.
Nexxen’s latest management changes suggest that those themes are moving from industry discussion to commercial strategy. Puccinelli will lead the company’s enterprise business, including its omnichannel demand-side platform, Discovery audience intelligence offering and TV Intelligence targeting and measurement business.
Suh will continue to oversee Nexxen’s exchange and media business, with an emphasis on connected TV and newer offerings including Nexxen TV Home Screen.
For Johnson, meanwhile, the promotion gives him a broader mandate to sell the idea he was making the case for at the Beet Retreat last year: that in an increasingly complicated advertising market, connecting the pieces may be more valuable than adding another one.
Nexxen has promoted Chance Johnson to president as the advertising technology company seeks to accelerate growth around its unified platform, proprietary data and connected TV capabilities.
Johnson, previously Nexxen’s chief commercial officer, will focus on strengthening relationships with strategic clients and partners. Based in New York, he will work closely with Chief Executive Officer Ofer Druker.
The company also named Kara Puccinelli chief commercial officer, succeeding Johnson in that role, and Kenneth Suh chief business officer.
“The Nexxen team has been hard at work developing a unified platform with proprietary data and exclusive media at its core, and we have crossed the threshold where its value only compounds,” Druker said in announcing the appointments.
Johnson said his new role will center on translating Nexxen’s technology and data investments into deeper commercial relationships.
“I have had a front row seat to Nexxen’s deliberate and unwavering efforts in platform unification, product innovation, strategic partnership and brand maturation,” Johnson said. “As President, my focus is simple: create partnerships and enhance relationships, so our clients can capitalize on the advantages we provide.”
A case for convergence
Johnson’s promotion puts him in charge of advancing a strategy he outlined last year during a conversation with Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at the Beet Retreat LA in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
Then serving as chief commercial officer, Johnson argued that convergence in advertising technology was becoming necessary as marketers and publishers grappled with fragmented supply paths, competing incentives and growing operational complexity.
His argument was that bringing demand, supply and data closer together can improve transparency and align incentives, provided that convergence is handled responsibly. Nexxen has sought to do that by unifying its demand-side and supply-side platforms around a common data layer.
That strategy is taking on greater importance as marketers look for more control over their data and clearer connections between advertising spending and business results.
First-party data needs somewhere to go
Johnson also cautioned at the Beet Retreat against treating first-party data as a cure-all.
Brands increasingly want ownership and control of their customer information, but collecting data is only part of the challenge. It also needs to work across platforms and channels.
Interoperability is critical, Johnson said, while the cost and complexity of managing data, governance and compliance can overwhelm companies that try to handle everything internally.
“Most brands simply don’t have the bandwidth,” he said.
Johnson advocated a hybrid model in which brands maintain control of their first-party data while using technology partners to ingest, enrich and activate it at greater scale.
SSPs have to earn their keep
Johnson also rejected the characterization of supply-side platforms as mere middlemen. But he acknowledged that SSPs need to provide more than what he called “generic pipes.”
He said platforms can justify their role by improving transparency, enriching publisher signals, bringing incremental demand and increasing the portion of advertisers’ spending that reaches working media.
That ties into a broader industry push toward supply-path optimization. Johnson said the advertising business had made progress in rooting out low-quality inventory, including made-for-advertising sites, but warned that optimization efforts can become too focused on obtaining the cheapest impression.
“We should be asking whether an impression drives positive results,” Johnson said, rather than focusing primarily on where it appeared or how little it cost.
AI shifts the focus toward outcomes
Johnson also pointed to artificial intelligence and better measurement as tools for shifting the industry from correlation toward incrementality, or determining whether an advertisement actually caused a change in consumer behavior.
Predictive AI can make optimization decisions at a speed no human media team could match, he said. That could leave marketers with more time for strategy and creative work instead of wrestling with the machinery behind campaign execution.
“That’s a positive result for the people doing the work and for the businesses they’re trying to grow,” Johnson said.
Nexxen’s latest management changes suggest that those themes are moving from industry discussion to commercial strategy. Puccinelli will lead the company’s enterprise business, including its omnichannel demand-side platform, Discovery audience intelligence offering and TV Intelligence targeting and measurement business.
Suh will continue to oversee Nexxen’s exchange and media business, with an emphasis on connected TV and newer offerings including Nexxen TV Home Screen.
For Johnson, meanwhile, the promotion gives him a broader mandate to sell the idea he was making the case for at the Beet Retreat last year: that in an increasingly complicated advertising market, connecting the pieces may be more valuable than adding another one.
