Commentary

Saluting the Iron Man of the Online Ad Industry: Dave Moore

by Dave Morgan , Featured Contributor, February 3, 2011

On Tuesday, the Interactive Advertising Bureau announced the transfer of its chairmanship from Dave Moore, founder, chairman & CEO of 24/7 Real Media, to Bob Carrigan, CEO of IDG. Today, online advertising is an established part of the media mix for almost all consumer marketers in the U.S. and Dave Moore is a big part of the reason why. He is not only a swimming, biking and running Iron Man, he is our industry's Iron Man.

Yes. He is truly an Iron Man when it comes to endurance athletics. Dave is a regular runner in the New York City Marathon. He has completed an Iron Man triathlon (2.5 mile swim, 112 miles of biking and a full marathon run). He has swum the English Channel. That may make him a superstar among us weekend runners, but that doesn't make him unique. There are a lot of endurance athletes.

However, when it comes to the online advertising, the endurance of Dave's leadership to his company and our industry is unparalleled.

I first met Dave back in early 1998, on the day that 24/7 Media was created by the merger of Petry Interactive, Katz Millennium Marketing and Interactive Imaginations, and he was named its CEO. Over the years, I got to know Dave as an industry colleague. I had started and was running an early online ad serving and ad network company called Real Media and ran into him frequently as we, and literally thousands of other CEOs of online ad companies of the late 1990s, were trying to make the case for the power and future of online advertising to Madison Avenue and Wall Street.

Dave's iron-will, perseverance and focus were really evident at the depths of the Internet's 2001 nuclear winter, when his company had a market capitalization of less than $20 million, very little cash and was on the verge of being de-listed by NASDAQ. He and Jon Hsu, his COO, not only secured additional financing (some of it out of his own pocket), but led 24/7 Real Media out of those extraordinary depths into a very profitable industry leader and an eventual sale to WPP in 2007 for $649 million. (Disclosure: in 2001, Dave had acquired my company Real Media, and combined it with 24/7.)

Did Dave retire to the beach after the sale? No. Dave has continued to advocate for our industry in bylined opinions, in speaking engagements and in direct relationships that he has fostered and grown year after year.

He also continued to grow his company and its profits as part of WPP and, after a short stint as executive chairman of the company, returned to the CEO job late last year. Of those thousands of online ad CEOs in the late 1990s, Dave is one of the few last men standing, one still running his original company -- something most of us expect him to continue doing for many years to come. Dave, you are our Iron Man. We salute you!

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5 comments about "Saluting the Iron Man of the Online Ad Industry: Dave Moore".

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Mark Moran from Dulcinea Media, February 3, 2011 at 4:47 p.m.
Dave, this is a terrific tribute to one of the finest men I've ever known. As one who worked alongside Dave for 9 years, I can attest that his career warrants every kind word you wrote. It's not surprising that he's also an endurance athlete - he is tireless, and, when faced with dozens of grueling challenges during that "nuclear winter," not once did he ever consider giving up, or taking the easy way out. Add in that he is of the utmost integrity, and it becomes hard to think of anyone else who could better serving as the face of the online advertising industry.
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Dan Mckillen from HealthDay, February 3, 2011 at 5:12 p.m.

Dave, Great job on this article and a fine tribute to a man that leads by example. I worked with Dave for ten years in the cable tv industry and he had that same "never say die" attitude in the early days of cable that he took with him to the Internet side of the business. I don't think you could find anyone that has anything bad to say about Dave. He deserves all the kudos you throw at him, and more.

R.J. Lewis from e-Healthcare Solutions, LLC, February 3, 2011 at 5:59 p.m.

I echo the sentiments in these posts as well as in the article. Endurance breads endurance and makes one strive to climb even higher pinnacles. Dave Moore is extremely high energy and has truly been a champion to our industry since its inception. It was great to see him lead the IAB last year, and it's been a pleasure working with him, and the remarkable company he helped build, for the last decade. Kudos Dave Moore for your passion, drive and tenacity, and Kudos Dave Morgan for this article.

Diane Osgerchian from SMB Media/Spotlight.us, February 4, 2011 at 12:29 a.m.

It was 1996 when I met Dave Moore. I was working at Prodigy selling banner ads on Prodigy Internet as it was called then. I was looking to leave the company and started interviewing. It was Halloween when I interviewed at Petry Interactive. I was waiting in the lobby when Dave walked up to me, shook my hand, introduced himself and smiled. His teeth were cracked and discolored and I said to myself "OMG his teeth are horrible!" Then we walked into his office, he took the fake teeth out and said "Happy Halloween." I guess I forgot it was Halloween and the teeth did look real! There's nothing like adding in a little humor before an interview. :-) I'm not sure if Dave remembers this but I never forgot it. Not only a great leader in our industry but a sense of humor as well. As Dave Morgan said "We salute you!"

Diane Osgerchian from SMB Media/Spotlight.us, February 4, 2011 at 12:32 a.m.