• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, August 29, 2023

Digital media-buying pioneer John Nardone has left agency technology leader Mediaocean and a new team has been put in place to oversee the operations of its legacy media-buying systems, it's new ad tech portfolio, and the development of new products for managing the workflow surrounding the convergence of linear and non-linear TV, as well as new advertising currencies associated with it.

The move comes two years after Nardone sold agency ad tech leader Flashtalking to Mediaocean, became its president and helped oversee its integration, as well as other recent acquisitions including 4C Insights, as part of a long-range growth plan to diversify the legacy agency media processor into new and emerging advertising technologies, especially creative.

Nardone, who had a two-year agreement to stay on following Mediaocean's acquisition of Flashtalking in July 2021, says it was time for him to move on and that he's exploring a variety of new opportunities in next-generation technologies that do not compete with Mediaocean.

Nardone, who as the head of media at one of the earliest pure-play digital media agencies -- Modem Media in the early 1990s -- is known as a pioneer of new media technologies and in an accompanying Q&A explains the timing of his departure from Mediaocean and what he's thinking about doing next.

Mediaocean, meanwhile, has named Nardone's long-time No. 2 to succeed him on Mediaocean's ad tech portfolio, but has also moved two long-time Mediaocean execs -- President-Agency Systems Nick Galassi and Chief Development Officer Ramsey McGrory -- to oversee its legacy media-buying systems and the integration of linear and non-linear TV systems, respectively.

Kartzman, who will report to Mediaocean CEO Bill Wise, is a long-time ad tech entrepreneur who joined Flashtalking as COO in 2020, just prior to its sale to Mediaocean.