• by Dave Morgan , Featured Contributor, 7 hours ago

I salute -- and all in the industry salute -- Doug Weaver on his just-announced retirement and the news that after 28 years, The Upstream Group will close its doors.

Doug Weaver is one of the true pioneers and heroes of our industry. He has always been a doer, out front and center, maybe one of the greatest our industry has ever had. 

As the advertising director of Wired magazine more than 30 years ago, Doug sold the first web banner ads, which famously went live on its HotWired site on Oct. 27, 1994. As the vice president for sales of Firefly Network in the late 1990s, he led one of the web’s first ad personalization platforms.

Doug has always been a selfless and deeply involved industry leader. He was one of the original board members of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. He put enormous time and effort into helping set our first ad standards. He launched the IAB Roadshow, a critical element in early evangelizing of digital advertising to mainstream marketers, a group he knew well from his 15 years experience in print ad sales pre-Web. So it's no wonder he was chosen to receive the first IAB Service Award back in 1999, one of dozens of industry awards he has received over the decades.

Doug has also been one of our great teachers, a role he committed himself to full-time 28 years ago when he launched The Upstream Group, one of the foremost strategy and sales training companies. This massively extended his impact on our industry and its talent development. His client roster included more than 700 different publishing companies. His pupils totaled in the 10,000s. Doug’s impact is extraordinary and immeasurable.

Doug’s Drift newsletter was required reading by all in online media and advertising. His hosting of iMedia Summits, along with his very special breakfast sessions for sellers, gave our industry focus, a path forward, and the encouragement we needed as we rebuilt it in the years after the dot-com bubble burst.

Thank you, Doug. You have given us all so much. Continue to enjoy Vermont and your family, and I can’t wait to see you when you occasionally find your way to New York City!