Real time bidding platform Rubicon Project has further expanded its international operations into Japan with the opening of an office and data centre in Tokyo to help better service buyers and sellers in the region.
Rubicon Project also announced the appointment of experienced industry executive Tomoyuki (‘Tommy’) Ikeda as Managing Director, Japan, who will be based in Tokyo and report to Jay Stevens, General Manager, International, Rubicon Project.
Tommy Ikeda will be responsible for building a sales and operations team that will work with publishers and application developers in the region, helping them to drive more revenue from their advertising inventory via automated advertising. Additionally, Ikeda will help drive adoption of Rubicon Project’s advertising automation platform across regional media agencies and other media buyers. Ikeda joins from Marin Software, where he held the role of Commercial Director, Japan and also brings experience from Adobe, Otto Japan, Overture, andAccenture.
Rubicon Project’s technology enables the buying and selling of premium inventory through an automated advertising platform. It is used by more than 500 of the world’s premium publishers and applications to transact with over 100,000 advertising brands globally.
Jay Stevens, General Manager, International, Rubicon Project, explains, “From our APAC base in Sydney we have witnessed the rise of automated advertising across Asia Pacific, especially in Japan where buyers and sellers are benefitting from increased efficiencies and rising revenues from their online and mobile inventory. Tommy Ikeda is well-placed to help us serve this market by bringing a solid understanding of auction technologies combined with technical skills and ad buyer experience developed over the past twenty years in the market.”
Masato Uesu, Director of Operations, Glam Media Japan, adds, “We have been working with Rubicon Project to build our private marketplace to service our current advertisers by meshing new technology with brand needs on desktop and mobile. The appointment of Tommy Ikeda and the new Tokyo office and data center offers us improved local support and the ability for our top clients to buy both programmatic ads and branded content as part of the same deal.”
Tommy Ikeda, Managing Director, Japan, Rubicon Project, adds, “Over the past twenty years I have helped several technology companies launch in Japan. Most recently I have worked with real-time bidding technologies and have seen the rapid adoption of automated trading in the region. I will use my market experience and commercial skills to recruit the right team and support local customers.“
Ikeda spent two years at Marin Software, establishing the company in the region and growing its revenue. Prior to that he worked at Adobe and was the General Manager of Otto Japan’s E-Commerce division before that. He also spent three years at Overture where he launched and established the mobile sales team, following stints at Netyear and Accenture. Fluent in Japanese and English, Ikeda has a degree in Engineering from Waseda University and an MBA from Seattle University.
The opening of the Tokyo office follows the recent appointment of a new Managing Director of Asia Pacific, Stuart Bartram, formerly of Salesforce and LinkedIn, to focus on business operations across APAC, including recent expansion into Singapore.