Doing ecommerce differently

Bruce Buchanan is the co-founder, CEO and Chairperson of Rokt.Prior to Rokt, Bruce held the role of Group CEO, Jetstar. Jetstar is the leading low fares airline in Asia with international and domestic operations in 16 countries across Asia-Pacific. During his time at Jetstar, Bruce was responsible for growing the team to more than 7000+, with revenue in excess of $3 billion. Bruce was instrumental in Jetstar’s Australian and global success, writing the original business case through to designing the world’s first long-haul low cost model, Jetstar international. He was also the chief architect of Jetstar’s APAC pan-Asian strategy, building a successful business across Australia, New Zealand, China, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan.The seed idea for Rokt grew from Bruce’s time working as CEO for Jetstar. Bruce identified that taking a consumer on a purchase journey with a personally relevant checkout experience presented a significant opportunity being underserved by the technology community, and so he set about building the solution. Prior to joining Jetstar, Bruce worked for The Boston Consulting Group for five years where he was regarded as one of the global leaders in their consumer practice area.Bruce has a Civil Engineering Degree from The University of New South Wales, and a Master of Business Administration from The Australian Graduate School of Management and the Anderson School at UCLA.Bruce currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and children and their border collie dog, Izzy.

As Chief Product and Engineering Officer, Bill Barton leads Rokt’s R&D efforts as we continue to scale our product and engineering teams to deliver against our ecommerce vision.Bill Barton is a seasoned, hands-on product development executive with expertise spanning mobile advertising; multimedia communications; speech, audio and voice; IP and switched-network systems; mobile and wireless systems; web applications; interactive advertising; and algorithm development.He most recently served as Vice President, Alexa Proactive Experience, at Amazon, where he spent the last 10 years building and leading teams that developed Alexa’s spoken language understanding and knowledge capabilities. His previous experience includes serving as Director of Product Development at NAVTEQ, Director of Product Development for Nokia Location & Commerce, Vice President of Engineering for Revolabs, Senior Vice President of Engineering for Unveil Technologies (acquired by Microsoft), and Vice President of Engineering at VoiceSignal Technologies. Barton holds a BA in Physics from Harvard University.

As Chief Commercial Officer, Elizabeth Buchanan leads the strategy and execution for Rokt’s GTM function - made up of marketing, customer success, business development and growth, it delivered over US$336M for the 2023 financial year. Elizabeth was part of the founding Rokt team in 2012. She has more than 25 years of experience with major brands including Yahoo!, Uber and Omnicom, where she held the role of President of Global Transformation within Omnicom.Elizabeth is a proven entrepreneur having founded (now named) whiteGREY in Australia in her twenties, which she built from a startup into the most revered digital full-service agency in the country. Elizabeth successfully exited the business when she sold it to STW Group (now WPP), and it continues to thrive today. In addition to her role at Rokt, Elizabeth currently holds board positions with the NGO Vital Voices Global Partnership and S4 Capital (LON: SFOR). Elizabeth lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and three of their five children (two have already flown the nest!) and their two dogs.

As General Counsel, Patrick leads Rokt’s legal team and advises senior leadership and the Board of Directors on all legal matters facing the company. He brings over a decade of legal experience to Rokt as well as the creative, problem-solving thinking of a former entrepreneur. Prior to joining Rokt in 2018, Patrick was co-founder and COO of an award-winning social enterprise based in New York. He cut his legal teeth at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Cohen & Gresser after serving clerkships in the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Patrick holds a J.D. from Fordham Law School and a B.A. from Williams College.

Simon Curran is a passionate leader with over 25 years of global experience in marketing, innovation, and leadership development. As Chief Development and Culture Officer at Rokt, Simon focuses on enhancing the company’s leadership capabilities and expanding learning and development initiatives. He is a former founder, board director, and high-performance coach of the All Blacks Performance Labs, bringing his expertise in building high-performing teams and coaching to his role.

He co-founded and was the CEO of Bastion Shine, a creative consultancy based in Auckland, and also co-founded Propel Performance Group, a human capital and coaching firm. Simon’s career includes senior roles at Saatchi & Saatchi and Lion Nathan, where he developed his skills in strategic marketing and business transformation.

Outside of work, Simon is a dedicated husband and father of three daughters, channeling the same passion for growth and creativity into his family life.

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Ashley Firmstone is the SVP of Customer Success for Rokt, where she leads a team that is passionate about developing relevant, customer centric, ecommerce strategies in collaboration with industry leaders. Her team works across key verticals such as Travel, Retail, Financial Services, Entertainment, Media and more. Ashley joined the company in 2014 to help establish Rokt’s US presence and grow the business globally. Rokt helps clients navigate the evolving marketing landscape and drive profitable and sustainable growth for their business by maximizing the value of every customer transaction.

Ashley holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Marketing from the University of South Florida. She is based out of New York City.

As Managing Director APAC, Stuart FitzRoy leads the team in APAC and partners with the Chief Product Officer to design, build and deploy Rokt’s products. Stuart joined Rokt in 2015.

He came to Rokt from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) where he was a Principal in the firm’s Sydney office. While there, Stuart worked with clients on technology projects across a range of sectors including travel and tourism, infrastructure and mining. He has expertise in digital technology, commercial strategy, distribution, sourcing and procurement.

In the middle of his tenure at BCG Stuart left to join Jetstar, the low fares airline serving the Asia-Pacific region. He was responsible for distribution and product management of the airline’s technology platform for booking, payment and check-in. He returned to BCG after helping to grow the Jetstar Group from concept to $1 billion in revenue.

Stuart holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics & Finance as well as a Bachelor in Chemical Engineering from the University of Sydney.

As Chief Revenue Officer, Craig Glavin leads the strategy and execution for Rokt’s business development and strategic partnerships..Craig has made significant contributions to the digital industry as a pioneer, co-founding the white agency (now whiteGREY) and transforming it into one of Australia’s largest independent digital agencies. With an impressive client portfolio including Telstra, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Coca-Cola South Pacific, and more, Craig steered the agency through successful acquisition by STW (now WPP).Craig’s talents extend into building businesses in emerging markets, as he led iflix’ SEA short form content division as Global Director, where he shifted focus to original local content.Upon his arrival in NYC, prior to joining Rokt, Craig became Chief of Staff for non-profit juggernaut Global Citizen where he played a pivotal role in expanding the organization’s presence in Canada and India through strategic partnerships with Usher, ColdPlay, JayZ, and Hugh Jackman among others.

Reuben is an experienced full-stack engineer with an extensive background in a wide range of projects. In the last 15 years, Reuben has worked at Google on various products, from Google Wave to Google Maps. In addition, Reuben likes a wide range of recreational activities and enjoys new experiences, from learning to fly a plane to scuba diving; Reuben will try everything at least once.

As Chief Security Officer, Prashanth leads Rokt's strategy and execution in all areas relating to Security and GRC (Governance, Risk & Compliance). Prior to joining Rokt, Prashanth was Deputy CISO at American Family Insurance, and prior to that had a 16-year career with the FBI, culminating in being Assistant Special Agent in Charge with the Counterintelligence Cyber Division in the New York Field Office.

Dhruv Patel is the CEO of AfterSell, powered by Rokt, an ecommerce software company specializing in post-purchase upselling solutions for merchants. Established in 2020, Patel and his co-founders, Armon Shokravi, Varun Kundra, and Landon Fuhr, created AfterSell to help independent ecommerce merchants compete on a global scale. Under their leadership, AfterSell has developed software solutions trusted by over 30,000 of the world's leading brands.

Patel's entrepreneurial journey reached a significant milestone in February 2024 when AfterSell was acquired by Rokt, a global leader in ecommerce technology. While the exact valuation of the deal was not disclosed, it involved a combination of cash and equity. This acquisition not only validated the success of AfterSell but also positioned the company for further growth and innovation within the ecommerce technology sector.

Throughout his career, Patel has demonstrated a strong commitment to leveraging technology to solve business challenges, particularly in the ecommerce space. His work with AfterSell has contributed to strengthening Canada’s economy by supporting small businesses and driving innovation in the tech industry.

As Interim Chief Operations Officer, Jacqui Purcell leads Rokt’s financial strategy and operations.Prior to joining Rokt, Jacqui served as CFO of two of Australia’s leading SaaS businesses, Culture Amp and Deputy. In these roles, Jacqui oversaw the finance, strategy and operations functions. Jacqui is a people-centric finance leader and is passionate about building and scaling high-growth technology businesses. Before becoming a CFO, Jacqui was an Executive Director in Morgan Stanley’s Mergers and Acquisitions team in New York, where she advised on transactions of all shapes and sizes predominantly in the technology, healthcare, and media industries. Jacqui is also an Operating Partner at TDM Growth Partners.Jacqui holds an MBA from the the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor’s of Commerce / Laws (Hons) from the University of Sydney.

As Chief Marketing Officer, Doug Rozen leads strategy and execution for all Rokt’s global marketing efforts, including brand, performance, employee, product and sales marketing functions.Prior to joining Rokt, Doug served as CEO of dentsu Media, where he transformed over 4,350 of the most progressive marketing experts at Carat, iProspect, dentsu X & beyond, across Canada, US and Latin America. Known for seamlessly exploiting the intersections of creativity, technology, and data, Doug has been recognized globally for leading businesses through change and has been fortunate to be part of many major industry firsts. The last few years, Doug removed barriers by launching Economic Empowerment with 30-day payment terms, propelled dentsu’s industry-best Attention Economy initiative, hired the first Chief Addressability Officer to reimagine people-based activation, developed a trading division to create new products & value streams and much more. Doug is most proud of his efforts to drive inclusion, including creating an apprenticeship program requiring no college degrees.Doug is a vocal cancer survivor and proud advocate for Stand Up to Cancer. He just finished studying artificial intelligence at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Doug is an avid cyclist and skier, living in Connecticut with his wife, daughter and son.

With over 30 years of experience, Bill Severance brings extensive expertise in financial reporting, technical accounting, and corporate finance to his role as Chief Accounting Officer at Rokt. Previously, he held CAO positions at Datto, Providence Service Corporation, Gilt Groupe, Travelport, and IAC/InterActiveCorp. Bill's career began at Ernst & Young, where he worked for 11 years, including three years in Germany. His international experience and deep understanding of technology-enabled enterprises make him adept at navigating complex financial landscapes across various industries.

As SVP of engineering at Rokt, Claire manages global teams in technical strategy and software development.
Southey spent a decade as head of tech development at Foxtel before heading to the UK to work for Amazon, initially at Prime before a couple of years at AWS, rising to global technical lead (media & entertainment), before heading to Google in 2022 as head of customer engineering in California.
She has an MBA and Masters of Data Science and took part in Yale University’s women in leadership program.

Leading product strategy and execution at Rokt, Saroj Thatte brings over 20 years of experience in technology and product management.  Previously, she was Director of Technology and Product at Amazon, leading performance measurement for Amazon Ads and serving as General Manager for AWS Identity Service.  She co-founded and successfully exited the startup BuzzPronto, and held product roles at Komli Media and Microsoft. Saroka is also an active angel investor.

As SVP of People, Kim Tingler sets the strategic direction and the agenda for the People Function at Rokt.

Prior to this role, Kim served as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources & Global Head of Compensation and Benefits for A+E Networks where she helped transform the organization from a collection of cable channels, to a multiplatform, multimedia, multi-genre content creator. After starting her career in finance with General Electric, Kim transitioned to HR and spent over 15 years leading People teams in both public and private companies.

Kim holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Management from Hartwick College. She lives in Mamaroneck, NY with her husband and three children.

Bruce Buchanan is the co-founder, CEO and Chairperson of Rokt.Prior to Rokt, Bruce held the role of Group CEO, Jetstar. Jetstar is the leading low fares airline in Asia with international and domestic operations in 16 countries across Asia-Pacific. During his time at Jetstar, Bruce was responsible for growing the team to more than 7000+, with revenue in excess of $3 billion. Bruce was instrumental in Jetstar’s Australian and global success, writing the original business case through to designing the world’s first long-haul low cost model, Jetstar international. He was also the chief architect of Jetstar’s APAC pan-Asian strategy, building a successful business across Australia, New Zealand, China, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan.The seed idea for Rokt grew from Bruce’s time working as CEO for Jetstar. Bruce identified that taking a consumer on a purchase journey with a personally relevant checkout experience presented a significant opportunity being underserved by the technology community, and so he set about building the solution. Prior to joining Jetstar, Bruce worked for The Boston Consulting Group for five years where he was regarded as one of the global leaders in their consumer practice area.Bruce has a Civil Engineering Degree from The University of New South Wales, and a Master of Business Administration from The Australian Graduate School of Management and the Anderson School at UCLA.Bruce currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and children and their border collie dog, Izzy.

Paul Bassat is a Co-Founder and Partner of global investment firm, Square Peg, and is passionate about backing the next generation of founders. Paul is a Commissioner of the Australian Football League (AFL) and is on the board of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation, and the P&S Bassat Foundation. Paul also served as a director of Wesfarmers from 2012-2018. Paul co-founded SEEK in 1997 and served as CEO and then as Joint CEO from 1997-2011. SEEK operates market leading employment marketplaces and education businesses in Australia, China, Brazil, Mexico and throughout South East Asia. Paul started his career as a lawyer and practiced for 6 years. Paul holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce from The University of Melbourne.

Bowen most recently served as Partner and Chair of the Operations Group of leading Australian private equity firm BGH Capital, was Finance Director of Wesfarmers Limited and served as an Executive Director of the company. Before joining Wesfarmers, Bowen served as Finance Director of Coles, Managing Director of Wesfarmers Industrial and Safety Division, CFO of Jetstar Airways and Finance Director of Wesfarmers Landmark.Bowen has significant executive experience across a range of diversified industries, and has deep financial and risk management, strategy, capital allocation, and supply chain management expertise.Bowen most recently served as Director of Navitas and as an independent, non-executive director of BHP Group Limited, Coles Group Limited, Transurban Limited and the West Coast Eagles Football Club. He holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from the University of South Australia, is a Fellow of the Society of Certified Practicing Accountants and completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.

Ms. Phit Lian Chong has more than 40 years of experience in leadership positions across various job functions including general management, business development, investment/divestment, mergers, and acquisitions.In addition to her position on the Rokt board, Phit Lian is also currently an Independent Director of Wizz Air PLC and Corporate Advisor to Temasek International Advisors. She also serves as Chairman of Singapore Science Centre Global.Her previous commercial roles include CEO/Board member of Singapore Mint, Safe Enterprises Group, Avis Car Rental, Pacific Internet, Jetstar Asia Airways, and TigerAirways.

Tom Cowan is a founder of TDM Growth Partners, a global investment firm with offices in Sydney and New York. TDM invests in fast-growing companies run by passionate management teams. Its unique and flexible mandate allows them to invest in public and private companies globally. TDM has a highly focused approach to investing, with a portfolio of no more than 15 investments globally.Prior to joining TDM, Tom worked for Investec Wentworth in corporate advisory and KPMG Corporate Finance in the mergers and acquisitions area.Tom is a Non-executive Director of Guzman y Gomez and previously a Non-executive director at Baby Bunting Limited.Tom holds a first-class Honours degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Sydney.

John Ho is the Founder and Chief Industrialist Investor of Janchor Partners, a long-term industrialist investment firm based in Asia since 2009.He is also currently a Non-Executive Director of Vocus Group Limited, a telecommunications company, listed on the ASX.In the past, he served as Chairman of Bellamy’s Australia Limited, an organic infant milk formula and baby food company. John also served as Deputy Chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Listing Committee, an independent body made up of leading market practitioners whose functions are to approve stock exchange listings and provide independent oversight over the operations of the Listing Division.John studied pure mathematics and finance at The University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia graduating with a University Medal.

Over the last 33 years, Karen has held a number of key executive and leadership roles at Neiman Marcus, including serving as the CEO for 8 years. Karen led the effort in acquiring luxury ecommerce site Mytheresa.com, the Munich-based luxury e-tailer, for Neiman Marcus. She also expanded Mytheresa’s ecommerce offerings to bolster the Neiman Marcus omni-channel strategy and oversaw the opening of the retailer’s first New York City flagship in 2018.The veteran retail executive also dedicates her time as board member at top companies such as The RealReal, and Humana. Her longest running board member position has been at Under Armour where she has been serving for the past 8 years.Karen holds a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the University of Houston.

Steve Krenzer has over 30 years of experience in data analytics and ecommerce, providing c-suite operating leadership to some of the largest private and publicly traded platforms on-line, including LowerMyBills.com / Core Digital Media and Groupon.Steve served as Groupon’s Chief Operating Officer from November 2017 to 2020. His role included ultimate oversight of Groupon’s North America and International segments, as well as Global Marketing and Global Operations.Prior to joining Groupon, Steve was the CEO of Core Digital Media, a leading online direct-response advertising company and one of the Internet’s largest display advertising providers. CDM’s flagship web properties included LowerMyBills and ClassesUSA. Prior to CDM, he held a variety of senior executive positions at Experian, ultimately serving as President of Interactive Media. Steve strategically builds teams united by a diverse, inclusive culture of employee engagement to develop scalable, high-performance organizations executing growth strategies.Mr. Krenzer has been a director of Rokt since September 2019 and is a member of the audit committee. He lives with his wife Pam in Southern California.

Bill Magnuson is a co-founder of Braze, beginning as CTO in 2011 and transitioning to CEO in 2017. Braze is a customer engagement platform that helps brands understand, nurture, and generate value from first party relationships by orchestrating personalized messaging journeys and product experiences across web, mobile, email, OTT messaging, connected devices, and more. Braze completed its IPO in 2021, and employs nearly 1600 people around the world. Before Braze, Bill received undergraduate and masters degrees in Computer Science from MIT, and briefly worked at Google, and Bridgewater Associates. Bill respects hard work, and tasteful irreverence, loves adventure, and someday wants to go ice cave spelunking on Europa.

Katie May started her career as a CPA at a big 4 firm and then spent several years in New York working on one of the world’s largest brands. A move to Australia prompted a move into Management Consulting with a top tier firm and strategic assignments at some of the most respected companies in Australia. Eventually transitioning to an executive role at SEEK.com.au as CMO from the early days through IPO. SEEK was just the start of a long career in building start-ups through to successful exits.Katie was the CEO and founder of her own disruptive business, Kidspot, in Australia eventually selling to News Corp in 2011. Katie became CEO at ShippingEasy, a fledgling Sydney based start-up a year later, moved it to Austin, Texas, and built this ecommerce software solution to a $60M ARR company, exiting to Stamps.com in mid-2016, joining their board in 2019.Katie holds a BBA and an MBA from the University of Texas in Austin.