Video ad tech company Unruly, part of Tremor International, has appointed former Oath and AOL Managing Director, Alex Khan, to the position of UK Managing Director.
Following the acquisition of Unruly by Tremor International in January 2020 and its decision to make the Unruly brand its international arm, Khan joins Unruly at a pivotal time for the company, which is one of the world’s largest video marketplaces.
As UK MD, Khan will lead in accelerating the ambitious growth of Unruly in the UK market. He will be focused on strengthening its offering as a unified platform for cross-screen video media services — including launching new services across CTV, In-App and InStream — and further cementing the strong reputation and position of Unruly with the additional capabilities that are added through Tremor.
Khan has over 25 years’ experience working in the advertising industry and brings with him key agency, client and partner relationships, end-to-end platform knowledge and experience in integrating businesses and refining go-to-market offerings across different territories.
Khan joins Unruly after spending over a year as managing director for APAC at mobile advertising and mApp monetisation specialists, Smaato, in which he was a driving force in restructuring, reworking and reinvigorating the business’ go-to-market strategy in that region, all of which was achieved in his first 12 months. Khan has also previously held senior leadership positions at Oath (APAC), AOL (Asia and ANZ) and was Head of Agency Sales at Yahoo! UK. While at AOL, Khan and the APAC team achieved the award for “Best Region” globally for AOL, and at Yahoo! UK, Khan led his team to achieve a 163% growth in sales — all of which came from the top 20 digital agencies. He will report to Steve Sottile, CRO, Americas and Europe, at Unruly.
Steve Sottile, CRO at Unruly, said: “Our primary focus at Unruly since the Tremor International acquisition has been on our tech integration; ensuring our clients and publishers have access to our expanded range of premium ad formats and additional reach in supply. It’s now time to ensure we have the right people and processes in place to accelerate our growth in key markets. Alex is a highly experienced and talented leader, and has a wealth of expertise in refining and driving a business’ goals in multiple regions. This makes him a crucial asset to Unruly, and we are confident that he will be a key driver in strengthening our position in the UK.”
Alex Khan, UK Managing Director at Unruly, said: “Unruly is one of the biggest names in the video advertising industry — a truly multi-optional partner to clients, requiring a mix of deep industry knowledge, creativity and best-in-class products. Its recent acquisition by Tremor International gives the business an unrivalled, powerful proposition in the market. I can’t wait to continue driving the company’s growth in the UK through investment in a breadth of innovative new services — including CTV, in-app and InStream — to build a unified and integrated platform across any screen media services. I’m pleased to be joining the team and looking forward to working with the many talented people within the business.”
As well as having a sharp commercial focus, Khan is also passionate about championing diversity in the industry, and will work to advance Unruly’s reputation as a leading workplace where employees feel valued and see progress. He is also an Advisor and Innovation Lead for WGI, an international education organisation that focuses on combating illiteracy in many communities around the world, and is a regular on the speaking circuit, recently speaking at ATS Singapore, Spikes Asia and IAB events.
