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Jeff Green

Co-Founder and CEO at The Trade Desk

Building The Trade Desk into the dominant independent DSP and creating Unified ID 2.0, the industry's most widely adopted open-source cookie replacement framework; a relentless champion of the open internet against walled-garden dominance.

OperatorVentura, California, United States18+ years in industry

Last updated Jun 11, 2026 by ATDb automated enrichment

Bio

Jeff Green is the co-founder and CEO of The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD), the world's largest independent demand-side platform, and one of the most consequential figures in the history of programmatic advertising. Under his leadership since the company's founding in 2009, The Trade Desk has grown into a publicly traded platform generating over $1.5 billion in annual revenue, enabling the world's top agencies and brands to execute data-driven advertising across display, video, audio, connected TV, and mobile. Green's defining philosophy — that advertisers deserve transparency, control, and access to the open internet free from walled-garden distortion — has shaped not only his company's product strategy but the broader industry's direction. Green's most enduring industry contribution beyond The Trade Desk itself is the creation of Unified ID 2.0 (UID2), an open-source identity framework built to replace third-party cookies while preserving user privacy and publisher monetization at scale. Now governed by Prebid.org, UID2 reflects Green's conviction that critical internet infrastructure must be collaborative and non-proprietary. He has been among the most vocal and persistent critics of Google and Meta's closed ecosystems, arguing publicly and in regulatory contexts that their opacity harms competition, advertisers, and the health of the open web. His advocacy has influenced industry standards conversations and positioned The Trade Desk as the leading alternative to big-tech ad stacks. Prior to founding The Trade Desk, Green served as President and COO of AdECN, one of the earliest advertising exchanges, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2007. That experience gave him foundational technical and operational insight into programmatic buying and selling mechanics that directly informed The Trade Desk's architecture. A frequent keynote speaker at major industry events including CES, Cannes Lions, and IAB conferences, Green is widely regarded as both a builder and an evangelist — someone who has simultaneously constructed one of AdTech's most valuable companies while actively shaping the ecosystem's norms, standards, and future trajectory.

Previous Roles

President and COO

AdECN (2005-2007)

Various roles post-acquisition

Microsoft (via AdECN acquisition) (2007-2009)

Expertise
Programmatic AdvertisingDemand-Side Platforms (DSP)Unified ID 2.0 (UID2)Identity ResolutionConnected TV (CTV) AdvertisingOpen Internet AdvocacyData Privacy and Cookieless AdvertisingAd Exchange Mechanics
Education
  • B.S., Computer Science, Southern Utah University
Notable Achievements
  • Co-founded The Trade Desk in 2009 and scaled it to a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: TTD) with over $1.5 billion in annual revenue
  • Created Unified ID 2.0 (UID2), now one of the most widely adopted open-source identity frameworks in the advertising ecosystem, governed by Prebid.org
  • Led The Trade Desk's IPO in 2016, one of the most successful AdTech public offerings of the decade
  • Grew The Trade Desk's market capitalization to over $20 billion at peak, making it the largest independent AdTech company by value
  • Sold AdECN to Microsoft in 2007, one of the early landmark acquisitions in programmatic advertising infrastructure
Awards
AdExchanger's Programmatic Power Player (multiple years)Advertising Age Leading Women and Men in Marketing recognitionFortune recognition among influential business leadersCynopsis Top Executive in AdTech
Speaking Topics
The future of the open internet vs. walled gardensIdentity resolution and the post-cookie ecosystemConnected TV and the convergence of streaming and programmatic advertisingTransparency and advertiser empowerment in programmatic buyingAI and data-driven advertising strategyPrivacy-preserving advertising infrastructure
Publications
  • Various op-eds and thought leadership pieces in AdExchanger, Advertising Age, and The Wall Street Journal on open internet advocacy and identity resolution
Board Memberships
The Trade Desk (Board of Directors)
Advisory Roles
Prebid.org (UID2 governance contributor)