Specialism - Platform Operations & Client Services Leader (Director / VP)
Location - London, Willing To Travel or Relocate
Actively Seeking - Permanent, Fractional, Consultant
How did you get into AdTech, and what do you specialise in today?
I was headhunted into AdTech - in 2018 I had spent a few years consulting into two of the big US banks, delivering large data center migration and engineering operations programmes, and I wanted to move back to the UK, the country I was born in.
An old friend - and a customer at a startup I ran technical support for - contacted me out of the blue, and said 'my new company has an EMEA technical support team that's struggling and needs help'. That was Freewheel, part of Comcast. They relocated me to the UK and the rest is history. Freewheel was a great experience - I had the opportunity to take multiple disparate operations and support teams and turn them into a high performing 24/7 services operation.
I did many things there - setting up advertising curation, the Invalid Traffic regime, and of course building Freewheel's 250-person operations and engineering centre, but what was most valuable was the opportunity to grow so many people, many into managers and directors.
Today I specialise in building and transforming services and engineering operations teams and turning around underperforming teams, as I've always done; in the last few years I've led more AI transformation programs and I'm working on a doctorate in AI.
What types of opportunities are you exploring right now?
Leadership in AdTech and elsewhere - client services and support, service delivery, engineering operations, or the AI transformation of any of those. Sell side or buy side - I've run support and operations for both. London or hybrid for preference, but I've worked and lived in Italy, Spain, the USA and Ukraine and I'll relocate for the right seat. I'm also open to a chief operating officer role at a growth-stage company where the operation is the product.
How has the job hunt in AdTech felt for you so far?
This is the most difficult market in a long time. When I started my job hunt I had a role that I went for - not quite adtech, close - where I had six interviews with six decision makers, over the course of a month, and in the closing interviews I was given reassurances about an offer being made. They applied for an offer, and the CFO rejected it due to the need to save money on redundancies and make an internal offer. Six interviews over a month! They couldn't help it, but it does show how difficult the market is and the reluctance to make buying decisions.
What’s been the biggest challenge for you?
Unsolicited advice, definitely! It's very difficult to communicate to people who haven't applied for positions recently how hard the market is, and what things you need to do for it. I have many useful things going on, I've been working with the most amazing startup, I am speaking to journalists about work and AI and I will be presenting at a large future of business summit in Georgia in October.
As I've said elsewhere, if you want to help someone in the job market, help them by directly referring them into real opportunities.
Which platforms or methods have helped you find opportunities?
The JobsInAdTech Community, definitely - people have been very generous, very willing to share their time, and it's possible to get a real sense of community there. I have kept up a lively LinkedIn feed and posted many articles, which a lot of people go ahead and look at. It's always true that you get better results from personal referrals into jobs.
And applying carefully and deliberately. Mass applications by AI feel productive, but sending people verbiage filled CVs without clear indications about what you've done won't help. I do use AI to help applications but with oversight and assistance. I wrote a series of scripts and prompts to help Claude with job applications. You can check it out here: https://github.com/WolffSimon/Second
What makes a job ad more attractive for you to apply for over another that doesn't?
I like a job ad that states what the need and responsibilities are concisely without too much fluff. A job advert isn't necessarily the best place to share your theories of management ('don't apply if you want a 9-5 or to watch the clock!') or to litigate disappointments with previous incumbents. Look for words you don't need and strike them.
When reading a job description, what do you look for first?
What do I get to do? What's the problem I am being asked to solve?
What signals tell you a company “gets” AdTech talent?
Clarity on the roles and responsibilities of the position and what's required. Clarity over the interview process. Skills-based interviews. Looking for experience and not 'signals' like specific universities or youth. My advice for anyone posting a job is to think about what you want the person to do, and not what you want them to be. If you want someone to be an agent of change, say that. If you want them to be able to adapt to a variety of challenges and learn quickly, say that - don't say you want a Harvard MBA under 25.
Conversely - what instantly turns you off a job ad?
Fluff - promoting the company at the expense of clarity over the job. Looking for specific universities (Ivy League, Oxbridge) and other status signals (YC alumnus status), over experience.
Have you noticed anything companies consistently do well — or poorly — in their hiring processes?
The problem of filtering large numbers of applications continues, and we will need, as an industry, to decide how we manage being swamped with applications for every job.
Rejection emails having the same template ('not a fit for our requirements') are low-cost, but can confuse candidates. The actual reason for a rejection may be something quite different and is as often overqualified as underqualified, but 'not a fit for our requirements' makes one answer fit everything and sounds like everyone is underqualified.
How important is speed of response when evaluating roles?
Not necessarily speed of response, but I value interactively speaking to recruiters, and some of the best recruiters I've dealt with are those where I'm able to have a good, two-sided conversation with someone about the job and work together on the process.
Are any industry trends influencing your career choices?
Definitely AI continues to be an area for opportunity, which is why, a year ago, I started postgraduate work on AI which I'm currently pursuing to doctorate level.
More generally, I have always sought to look at the next thing and to be open to opportunities, which is why, when I was asked to set up a support and tooling centre in Ukraine, I did so; and why I took a job consulting in the US, and why I set up a operations and engineering centre in India. I believe in 'yes' - it makes for a more interesting career.
What do companies often misunderstand about candidates in AdTech?
Often companies make assumptions without asking - that someone will be unwilling to commute, unwilling to move, will not want to take a certain position. Ask.
Why should top companies want to hire you?
I've spent twenty years building, turning round and rescuing operations, service and engineering teams. I took an underperforming support function and got it to a 24/7 function with +60 NPS. I built a 250-person engineering and operations centre in India in twelve months, ahead of schedule and under budget. I have put multiple AI systems into production. I'm technical but still commercially minded, and I measure success by what's accomplished, not by words.
I've set strategy, briefed boards and chief executives, but I still roll my sleeves up and do the practical technical work.