Judi A. Hand and Aaron Samuels bring new voices and broad experience to enhance company’s vision for impact and growth
Boulder, CO – Today, Sovrn announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors, Judi A. Hand and Aaron Samuels. Hand joined the Board on February 9, 2022 and Samuels joined on November 11, 2021. Following their appointment, the Board is now composed of eight directors, four of whom are independent.
“Aaron and Judi joining the Sovrn Board adds diversity of skills and perspectives to an already powerhouse Board of Directors,” said Walter Knapp, Sovrn CEO. “Judi’s deep leadership experience at some of the largest public companies in the world combined with Aaron’s creative approach to entrepreneurship will be invaluable to Sovrn as we grow our business and pursue our mission of continuing to help publishers thrive on the open web.”
Hand is currently the executive vice president and chief revenue officer of TTEC Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTEC), one of the largest global customer experience technology and services innovators serving many of the world’s most iconic and disruptive brands. She brings more than 25 years of sales and marketing experience from senior positions at telecom industry leaders including AT&T, Northwestern Bell, US West and Qwest. Beginning June 2020, Hand has served as a member of the board of directors of Ooma, Inc., a communications platform for businesses and consumers, and previously served as a member of the board of directors of Manitoba Telecom Services, Inc., a Canada telecommunication company. Hand holds an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in communications from the University of Nebraska.
“I am thrilled to join the Sovrn Board and I look forward to lending my experience in sales and marketing leadership to help steer the company’s strategy and future growth,” said Hand.
Samuels is an entrepreneur and the co-founder of Blavity Inc., the largest global media company focusing on Black Millennials and Gen Z, reaching over 100 million people per month. Blavity Inc. also operates the AfroTech conference, the largest Black technology conference in the world. He brings a broad swath of experience across strategic consulting, product management, ad operations, and investing, serving as a scout investor with Canaan Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners and as an investment partner at The Community Fund, focusing on diverse and under-networked founders. Samuels received his undergraduate business degree from Washington University in St. Louis and his MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.
“I believe independent publishers should have the same ability to monetize their audiences as the large media conglomerates,” Samuels said. “I believe Sovrn is democratizing the toolkit to unlock this possibility and I am excited to bring my experience and insights to accelerate their efforts.”
About Sovrn
Sovrn provides products and services to thousands of online publishers to help them understand, operate and grow their business. Sovrn is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, with offices in New York, San Diego and London.
With thousands of customers deploying advertising, affiliate marketing, and data products across 40,000 websites, Sovrn reaches over 300 million active consumers across more than 11 billion pageviews every day. Sovrn has been a leader in online publisher technology since its founding and has been recognized by IAB, JICWEBS, and TAG for its role in combating fraud and promoting pro-transparency initiatives. Sovrn is dedicated to helping content creators do more of what they love, and less of what they don’t. www.sovrn.com
