• by Tyler Loechner  @mp_tyler, January 29, 2015

Nativo, a programmatic native ad platform, on Thursday announced the appointment of Carlos Sapene as VP of product development.

Sapene will oversee Nativo’s product team, per a release. He was previously VP of digital and new media at NBCUniversal.

“Carlos brings a unique depth of experience as both a programmer and a publisher product manager. That background makes him a perfect fit for Nativo,” stated Justin Choi, CEO of Native.

Sapene stated he believes Nativo’s offering -- a blend of automation and native advertising -- is what publishers and brands “will need in the future.”

A new report from the Association of National Advertisers notes that 63% of big national advertisers plan to increase native ad budgets in the next 12 months. That’s on top of the 55% of advertisers that have increased their native ad budgets in the previous 12 months.

Publishers including Hearst and Bonnier use Nativo, as do buyers including Publicis, Varick Media Management, Mindshare and others, per a release.