The Trade Desk, a demand-side platform (DSP), on Monday announced the promotion of Tim Sims to vice president of inventory partnerships.
Sims has been with The Trade Desk for nearly two years and has worked on the company’s publisher management platform, where he oversaw upfront buying capabilities (e.g. “programmatic direct”) and private marketplaces. In his new role, Sims will oversee the company’s inventory partnerships.
A press release announcing Sims’ promotion alludes to two key areas of focus: International partnerships and television. The Trade Desk is expanding into China, and Sims will be primarily responsible for tapping into inventory to support that growth.
Additionally, The Trade Desk has been particularly involved in the expansion of programmatic ad tech into television. The company recently sponsored an IDC report that looked into the future of programmatic television. (IDC estimates that programmatic TV will account for $17.3 billion in ad spend worldwide by 2019, up from $69 million in 2014.)
But in order for those lofty projections to be met, more television inventory will need to be made available for programmatic buying -- which is where Sims, in his new role, comes into play.
Prior to joining The Trade Desk in early 2014, Sims worked in business development for OpenX, per a release. Prior to that, he was director of media at digital TV start-up SpotRunner.