Brand Networks Taps Tech Veteran Todd Taplin As Ne

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Mar 13, 2017) - Brand Networks, the award-winning provider of solutions that simplify social™, today announced that it has appointed Chief Revenue Officer Todd Taplin to the position of Chief Executive Officer. Founder and former CEO Jamie Tedford will continue to serve the company as Chairman of the Board.

"As a recovering agency guy and lacking outside funding, I bootstrapped Brand Networks as a tech-enabled services provider," said Jamie Tedford, Chairman of Brand Networks. "A decade later, our software is enabling agencies and brands to independently manage media investment across social platforms and our people are focused on providing training, onboarding and enablement services to ensure their success."

"As the market needs and company focus have evolved, I've been working with my Board on a succession plan that attracts an experienced operator with a rare combination of software, media and ad tech experience to lead Brand Networks. I'm thrilled we found that leader and know Todd's skills and industry experience will help guide our company into the future," added Tedford.

As CEO, Taplin, a media industry and SaaS technology veteran, will lead Brand Networks as it continues to focus on the advancement of its self-service software platform. Taplin will be responsible for executing the company vision day-to-day across all offerings, both managed services and software, while ensuring customer success and company growth. As Chairman, Tedford will shift focus to corporate development and strategic partnerships.

Brand Networks has grown significantly since its founding ten years ago, from its roots as a bootstrapped startup, to the acquisition of two competing social advertising SaaS platforms -- Optimal and SHIFT -- supported by an infusion of equity from AEA Investors, a leading private equity fund based in New York. AEA is an active shareholder and supporter of growth in the business. Brand Networks now serves hundreds of enterprise customers, (including half of the Fortune 100 and 17 of AdAge's 25 Most Advertised Brands) powering more than $500 million in media spend with high performance digital advertising strategies across every leading social media channel.

Taplin joined the Brand Networks team in Q3 2016, after a long career in media and SaaS software. Prior to joining Brand Networks, Taplin served as EVP and Chief Revenue Officer with Celtra, a provider of creative management software for digital advertising. While at Celtra, Todd led the effort to convert the company's customers from a managed services-based offering to a self-service software platform. Before Celtra he held senior executive and sales leadership roles at Adobe and Yahoo, helping both companies drive the go-to-market integration of complex advertising technology stacks, while producing record revenues during his tenure.

"Jamie and his team have built an incredible company, industry leading technology and a culture of innovation unmatched by competitors," said Taplin. "I'm honored that Jamie and the Board have tapped me to lead BN into the next phase of our growth."

About Brand Networks Brand Networks Simplifies Social™. The company delivers award-winning social media advertising software and services to hundreds of enterprise customers, including half of the Fortune 100 and 17 of AdAge's 25 Most Advertised Brands. The Brand Networks Platform uses personalization data and powerful automation technologies to help marketers optimize their media investments across the social web. Media buyers can reduce campaign management time by up to 75% while increasing their return on advertising spend across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Snapchat. Brand Networks was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Boston with offices in San Francisco, New York City, Rochester, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, and Sydney. For more information, please visit bn.co.