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Jeff Atencio
Manager, Ad Operations at WildBrain Spark
Professional Background
Jeff Atencio is a distinguished digital advertising operations strategist with over 15 years of extensive experience in optimizing ad technology, monetization, and ad operations. Throughout his career, Jeff has demonstrated a unique ability to lead cross-functional teams effectively, ensuring the flawless execution of advertising campaigns across various platforms. His role as a respected leader is underscored by his expertise in standardizing and scaling processes that contribute to business and revenue growth.
In his most recent position as the Manager of Ad Operations at WildBrain Spark, Jeff has been instrumental in enhancing operational efficiencies and driving significant revenue increases. His tenure at WildBrain is marked by a commitment to fostering a lively and engaging workplace culture, resulting in teams that are motivated and consistently exceed their performance goals.
Previously, Jeff served as the Director of Digital Ad Products and Advanced Ad Platforms at Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International. In this capacity, he was pivotal in identifying innovative technological advances that empowered the organization’s digital strategy, thus securing and expanding business with high-profile customers. His leadership style encourages collaboration across functions, enabling his teams to navigate the evolving landscape of digital media and advertising successfully.
Education and Achievements
Jeff Atencio pursued a Bachelor of Arts (BA) at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY), equipping him with a foundational understanding of communications and business that has supported his career in digital advertising operations. His education complements his practical experience, reinforcing his strategic approach to managing ad operations and technology.
With a meticulous focus on vendor management and advanced advertising strategies, Jeff has spearheaded initiatives that have greatly improved campaign and account management processes. His expertise also extends into the realms of data management platforms (DMPs), audience targeting, and modern ad technology, allowing him to remain at the forefront of industry developments.
Notable Career Highlights
Throughout his career, Jeff Atencio has held several esteemed positions within leading media organizations. Noteworthy roles include:
- Director of Digital Ad Operations and Account Management at Disney ABC Television Group: In this role, Jeff was responsible for overseeing comprehensive digital ad operations and account management for Freeform, contributing to streamlined processes that heightened efficiency.
- Senior Manager of Digital Ad Operations at ABC Family/Freeform: Jeff's leadership during this period facilitated substantial developments in the way the network handled digital ad inventories, which proved vital for meeting the dynamic demands of its audience.
- Director of Ad Operations at UGO Entertainment, Hearst Digital Media: His tenure at UGO was marked by the implementation of effective ad operations strategies that laid the groundwork for future growth and success.
- Digital Ad Ops Traffic Specialist at Meredith Corporation: Early in his career, Jeff showcased his technical acumen and knack for traffic management, which formed a solid basis for his subsequent roles.
- Sponsorship Ad Ops Traffic Specialist at DoubleClick: Here, he gathered invaluable experience in managing sponsorship ads, advancing his knowledge in technology and media.
Skills and Specialties
Jeff Atencio possesses a robust array of skills that exemplify his capabilities in the advertising technology sector. These include:
- Ad Servers and Operations Management Systems: Proficient in tools such as Google Ad Manager, DFP Premium, Freewheel MRM, Operative One, and Freewheel RPM, Jeff has a solid grasp of the technologies that drive advertising success.
- Programmatic Advertising: His experience with platforms like AppNexus, SpotX, Rubicon, as well as his knowledge of Private Marketplaces (PMPs) and Open Marketplaces (OMPs), positions him as a specialist in programmatic advertising strategies.
- Data and Audience Targeting: Jeff's ability to leverage data for targeted advertising campaigns is one of his standout capabilities, ensuring that ads reach the right audiences effectively and efficiently.
- Team Building: Recognized for building high-performing teams, Jeff focuses on creating an environment that promotes engagement, innovation, and success. His leadership has not only driven operational goals but has also fostered individual career development among team members.
Conclusion
Jeff Atencio represents a wealth of knowledge and experience in digital advertising operations, with a proven track record of achieving business growth and operational excellence. His ability to adapt to changing technologies coupled with his strategic foresight has made him a notable figure in the advertising industry. Through his roles in various high-profile organizations, Jeff continues to embody leadership that prioritizes innovation, collaboration, and above all, a positive workplace culture.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.