IAB Europe appoints Sonia Carreno CEO-elect

IAB Europe, the leading trade association for the digital advertising and marketing ecosystem in Europe, has appointed Sonia Carreno as CEO-elect, signaling a significant leadership transition for one of the continent's most influential AdTech industry bodies. Carreno, who has served as President of IAB Canada for many years and is widely respected across the global IAB network, is set to take the helm of IAB Europe following the planned departure of the current leadership. Her appointment reflects the organization's intent to bring in a leader with deep operational experience running a national IAB chapter and navigating complex regulatory and industry challenges. The announcement was made on September 23, 2026, and positions Carreno as a bridge between North American and European digital advertising perspectives. Sonia Carreno's background is particularly notable given the regulatory pressures IAB Europe has faced in recent years, most prominently around the Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF), which has been subject to scrutiny from European data protection authorities including the Belgian Data Protection Authority. Her experience managing industry coalitions, engaging with regulators, and driving consensus among diverse stakeholders in Canada makes her a strategically considered choice for an organization that must balance commercial interests with an increasingly complex GDPR and ePrivacy compliance landscape. The appointment carries significant weight for the broader European digital advertising ecosystem, as IAB Europe plays a central role in shaping industry standards, policy positions, and frameworks that govern how billions of euros in programmatic advertising are transacted across the continent. Carreno's elevation to CEO-elect suggests a period of transition and potential strategic repositioning for IAB Europe as it continues to navigate post-TCF reform, the deprecation of third-party cookies, and the rise of alternative identity solutions.

This leadership change at IAB Europe has meaningful implications across the AdTech ecosystem, particularly in Europe where regulatory and standards-setting bodies wield considerable influence over how digital advertising infrastructure is built and operated. IAB Europe's TCF remains the dominant consent management framework used by publishers, advertisers, and technology vendors across the continent, and the incoming CEO will be responsible for stewarding its ongoing evolution in response to regulatory feedback and market demands. Carreno's appointment may signal a more diplomatically engaged approach with data protection authorities, given her track record of stakeholder management in Canada's comparably complex regulatory environment. From a market dynamics perspective, the transition could influence how IAB Europe engages with major platform players such as Google, Meta, and Amazon, as well as independent AdTech vendors navigating identity resolution in a cookieless environment. Industry participants including DSPs, SSPs, DMPs, and consent management platforms (CMPs) will be watching closely to understand whether the new leadership will accelerate or recalibrate the TCF's technical and legal roadmap. There is also potential for stronger transatlantic alignment between IAB Europe and IAB Canada, which could benefit multinational advertisers and agencies seeking consistent standards across jurisdictions. More broadly, the appointment reflects a maturation of the IAB global network's leadership pipeline, drawing on proven executives from national chapters to lead regional bodies. This could strengthen the overall coherence of IAB's global policy and standards agenda at a time when digital advertising faces mounting scrutiny from regulators worldwide, increasing pressure around AI-generated content, and structural shifts driven by retail media and connected TV growth.