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Wade Rifkin

General Manager, Streaming at Disney Advertising

Rifkin is known for leading ad product and monetization strategy across Disney's streaming platforms, particularly in advancing programmatic and addressable advertising capabilities for Hulu and Disney+.

OperatorNew York, New York, United States15+ years in industry

Last updated Jun 11, 2026 by ATDb automated enrichment

Bio

Wade Rifkin is a senior advertising technology executive at Disney Advertising, where he serves as General Manager of Streaming, overseeing ad product strategy and monetization across Disney's streaming portfolio including Hulu and Disney+. He is recognized for helping shape how one of the world's largest media companies approaches addressable advertising, audience targeting, and programmatic capabilities in the streaming era. His work sits at the intersection of premium content, data-driven advertising, and the evolving connected TV landscape. Rifkin joined Disney through its acquisition of Hulu, where he held leadership roles in ad product and technology. His career has been defined by building scalable ad infrastructure for streaming platforms, including developing audience segmentation tools, dynamic ad insertion capabilities, and programmatic marketplace offerings. He has been a key figure in translating Hulu's early leadership in streaming advertising into Disney's broader unified advertising strategy following the consolidation of Disney's streaming assets. With over a decade in digital and streaming advertising, Rifkin is regarded as an operator who bridges the technical and commercial sides of AdTech. He has been a visible voice at industry events discussing the future of streaming monetization, identity solutions in a cookieless environment, and the role of first-party data in premium video advertising.

Previous Roles

VP, Ad Product

Hulu (2018-2021)

Director, Ad Product

Hulu (2015-2018)

Expertise
Streaming AdvertisingConnected TV (CTV)Programmatic AdvertisingDynamic Ad InsertionAddressable AdvertisingFirst-Party Data StrategyAd Product DevelopmentAudience Targeting
Notable Achievements
  • Led ad product strategy at Hulu during its growth into one of the most sophisticated streaming ad platforms in the industry
  • Helped architect Disney Advertising's unified streaming ad product offering following Disney's consolidation of Hulu and Disney+
  • Advanced programmatic and addressable capabilities for Disney's streaming portfolio at scale
Speaking Topics
The future of streaming advertisingAddressable TV and audience targetingFirst-party data in a cookieless worldProgrammatic monetization for premium video