Mike Welch, formerly EVP and general manager of Xandr, will take over as the CEO of search intelligence platform Captify.
Welch will succeed Captify co-founder Dominic Joseph who will remain on the board of directors.
In his previous role, Welch was responsible for leading all aspects of the business globally. Prior to Xandr, he spent two decades working mainly in advertising-focused roles at AT&T including product, sales, corporate strategy, and business development, including leading the sale process that resulted in Xandr’s acquisition by Microsoft last year.
Welch was previously chairman of the Board of Directors for INVIDI Technologies and served on the Boards of the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).
“12 years of building Captify from conception to the global business it is today has undoubtedly been the proudest achievement of my career,” said Joseph.
“Over the last year or so, I have been working with the Board to find a successor with the necessary skills and industry experience to continue accelerating our global growth. From his time leading Xandr, Mike knows our customers and their needs, but also fits perfectly with our culture. I look forward to supporting and advising him as we enter this exciting new phase.”
“The opportunity to lead Captify into the next phase of its evolution is the perfect fit for me,” said Welch.
“As a key partner for Xandr over the years, I’ve seen first-hand the power of Captify’s technology. Captify has a unique and potent understanding of consumer intent, and there are limitless ways in which that intelligence can evolve all phases of Marketing. Building on the strong foundation that Dom and the team have created, we will scale-up the business and provide highly performant campaigns using consumer intent data across all forms of digital media, including CTV, Addressable TV and DOOH. Additionally, Captify’s cookieless solutions have been gaining widespread adoption, and we plan to continue to innovate and lead in this space.”
Captify’s Australian MD Krish Raja added: “The Aussie business is going from strength to strength which shows in our ever-expanding team. The addition of Mike outlines Captify’s mission and evolution over the years and we’re looking forward to seeing his vision come to life for Australian brands and publishers alike.”
