AOL's Hires; Twitter Global TV Measurement

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.

New CTO For AOL

After shuffling CEO positions among the AOL Platforms ranks last week, AOL is targeting the C-level again. The company has appointed William Pence as global CTO, “who will lead all aspects of AOL’s global technology strategy and will report directly to me,” AOL CEO Tim Armstrong told TechCrunch. Most recently, Pence was WebMD’s EVP and CTO, and reportedly had a track record of pushing new mobile products at his former company. Curtis Brown, AOL’s CTO since 2012, will stay on with the company for a number of months through the transition. Read more.

Tweet Ratings

Twitter has plans to extend TV measurement and support to far corners of every continent. Expanding a partnership with Kantar Media that covered the UK and Spain, both companies are now working to bring Twitter TV measurement standards and tools to Russia, the Nordics and parts of Africa and southeast Asia. Additionally, Twitter’s brewing a research product called “Data of Now” to tie its public, real-time data to advertising effectiveness programs. More on Twitter’s blog.

Big Hire At AppNexus

Is AppNexus primed for an IPO – or a sale? With S-1s raining down from competitors, the company has tapped Jonathan Hsu, former chief executive at 24/7 Media, as its CFO/COO. Press release. AppNexus probably doesn’t need immediate cash in light of its $75 million raise in 2013, but may want to strike while the iron’s hot. CEO Brian O’Kelley downplayed the possibility in an AdExchanger interview last year, saying, “There’s an argument to be made that we should be rushing out the door to take advantage of the hot market. The problem is I still have to run the company when it’s not a hot market. … It’s just another financing round. Why would I want my investors to be irrational hedge funds?”

Smarter Video

Celtra on Monday launched its new Smart Video Ad Formats for mobile devices. The in-banner video units include features like auto-play and sound controls and interstitial capabilities. “Not all publishers can run pre-roll ads since not everyone has video content on their sites,” Mihael Mikek, Celtra CEO and co-founder, told AdExchanger. “But Our Smart Video Ad Formats let publishers run in-banner video ads on apps or the mobile Web, giving them another way to monetize.” Read more about Celtra in March. And here’s the Smart Video Ad press release.

You’re Hired!