• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, July 1, 2019

This morning, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced that it has hired Sheryl Goldstein as senior vice president, marketing and member investment — a newly combined role — starting immediately. 

Goldstein will manage IAB’s marketing and sales teams, and work closely with professional training and development. 

She is IAB’s first marketing chief since EVP-CMO David Doty left at the end of 2017, after 11 years, to return to consulting. 

Goldstein’s 20-year career has included senior posts in sales, marketing and strategy at Yahoo, AOL and About.com. 

She served as vice president, global strategy and business development for communications and leadership training company Own The Room from 2016 through 2018. Most recently, she headed her own consultancy, TriGold Communications, advising executives on how to advance their personal brands. 

She also served on the boards of AI/machine learning startup Wylei and She Runs It (formerly Advertising Women of New York), where she is currently on the Executive Class Member Committee. 

Goldstein’s long association with IAB includes serving on its CRO Council during the development of IAB’s Standard Industry Terms and Conditions model contract. She has IAB Digital Media Sales Certification. 

Goldstein “knows the IAB, knows our members, knows our customers, knows our issues, and knows how to make things happen,” summed up IAB CEO Randall Rothenberg, in the hiring announcement. 

In an interview by email with Digital News Daily, Goldstein said it would be premature for her to comment on specific IAB initiatives like its just-launched Data Transparency Standard Compliance Program, or on which issues are currently deemed highest-priority by IAB. But she answered questions about the new role and consumer privacy issues. 

On the reason for creating a combined marketing/member investment position:

Goldstein: “IAB has always had the remarkable ability to bring different stakeholders to the table — brands, publishers, platforms, and technology firms. They all have different roles to play, but what they all have in common is the need to grow and drive revenue, reduce costs, and mitigate risks. 

By bringing together marketing and member investment, we will be able to develop practical solutions that tap into IAB’s wealth of insights and skills to address those types of critical concerns across the board. That means having a deep bench of experienced talent in everything from the latest in managing brand safety to building brands through audio to the in-housing programmatic movement. IAB has all that and more. 

IAB’s services have been growing exponentially…from offering professional training to creating industry best practices to producing market-making research. The entire ecosystem should know how to take full advantage of IAB’s expertise and capabilities."

On how her own experience will help IAB and its members push forward on critical issues including metrics, standards and brand safety: 

Goldstein: “I have been on the front lines in ad sales with major publishers like Yahoo, AOL and About.com. I have been where many of our members sit today — dealing with issues that run the gamut from data security to viewability. It gives me first-hand insights into their pain points and an understanding of what services could make a qualitative difference in their businesses. 

In addition, my last three years working in talent development and training have allowed me to work with companies such as Spotify, Facebook, Google, Cheddar, Publicis, CNN and numerous other industry leaders and start-ups. 

Learning and professional development are vital in attracting and retaining top talent. IAB has long offered courses and certification programs to help meet the increasing workforce demand in the digital economy, and my experience in the space will contribute to shaping and molding our programs to meet the development needs of our members.”  

On what IAB and its members will do to address the escalating misuse of consumers’ personal and financial data, and the industry’s renewed push for national privacy laws that would supersede state laws: 

Goldstein: “IAB has been at the forefront of working with legislators to protect consumers. They have a strong commitment to data privacy regulation and are actively working with Congress today, asking the government to create a national "Do-Not-Track-Plus" program. 

[Rothenberg] and Dave Grimaldi, the organization's head of public policy, articulated the trade group's point-of-view in a recent post. I look forward to working with them and the entire team to drive these efforts on Capitol Hill and across the country.”