PubGalaxy Q&A Series: Lawrence Pretto

As recently announced, we’ve just opened a new office in London and our team has expanded with several key team members. This week, we present to you Lawrence Pretto – Business Development Team Lead for our UK office. Larry has an extensive experience in the industry,  within companies such as DoubleClick, Undertone Networks, WWE, Beanstock Media and LiveIntent. His deep understanding of programmatic trading and display yield management will be of great value to the team’s mission to help media owners with their monetization needs.

What do you think are the biggest challenges in ad tech?

We have to change the way we sell all the time.  For example, time and time again, tech companies claim that they are the leader in reaching the right user on the right device at the time, at the right price. Apparently, it seems compulsory to say that, but it has become so banal! Internet Advertising is moving at breakneck speed and whatever is relevant today is irrelevant tomorrow.  In other words, we all need to listen more effectively and stop selling the algorithms, but rather think in terms of building a business. 

 

What drives you in your work?

Never stop learning, because it gives me courage. The more knowledgeable I am, the more comfortable I feel.  In the real-time world, companies need people who are adaptive and agile to solutions across all channels, from programmatic and social media to mobile e-commerce, to data-based solutions to native & video.  

Why did you choose PubGalaxy as the place to continue your career development?

I am delighted to be a part of PubGalaxy. Header Bidding is not a new concept but the way we approach our clients is special. The machines are doing the decision making but they mean nothing if the humans can’t interpret them. Running programmatic ad operations across multiple countries can be an operational nightmare. PubGalaxy brings the consultative skills that accompany the right technology, and moral approach that has demonstrated tremendous satisfaction with our publisher partners.  

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career to date?

Believe in the power of failure. It’s the best way to learn. Just remember to learn from your mistakes, and not to repeat the same ones. 

What do you want PubGalaxy to accomplish in the next year?

As with everything in business all solutions begin with the client. It’s easy to jump to conclusions but this could be detrimental as every client is different and every solution needs to be inimitable. Our mission is to be the go-to partner for small to medium-size publishers and interact with them at a more personal level. This is not to say that larger publisher-centric solutions providers do not care about customers, but it’s more challenging to put the CEO or other high-ranking executives face-to-face with new publishers and help them along their growth journey. We are here to help media owners have the proper knowledge to scale their business in programmatic ad trading so that they reinvest their revenue into other commercially focused parts of their business. 

Tell us a little bit about the person behind the professional.

Movies have a special place in my life and my wife, who is just as much of a movie junkie as I am, have a tendency to speak movie lines in normal conversation. My family is my favorite hobby! I love spending my free time with my wife and two lovely daughters and awesome dog. I also take great pride in being a reading partner for their school. It’s wonderful to see a child’s confidence as they grow from sounding out words to reading evermore challenge books fluently throughout the school year. *Incidentally, when it comes to reading to my kids, I am banished from their room.