In episode 138 Kerel and Erik sit down with Phil Schraeder, the CEO at GumGum, a company that empowers advertisers to deliver creative advertising campaigns without the use of personal data. Phil grew up as the middle child in Illinois, stayed close to home through college at Northwestern University, and started his career at KPMG. He didn’t feel he could be open and express himself in ways that he wanted in that environment so he took the opportunity to move to Los Angeles to find himself and explore who he is. Out West, Phil started working in the accounting sector of the movie industry, which made him much more comfortable, he found connections and eventually moved into the tech space.
In this conversation, Phil talks about his experience of his 10 years so far at GumGum, how they are addressing privacy in the online space, creating a workplace culture that is accepting and open to feedback, and bringing authenticity to digital environments.
“With all the exciting things we're doing, it's really, how do we bring the authenticity to those digital environments? How do we use technology to be really smart about what's going on? All the images, the text, the audio, use all of that stuff, don't use the personal data, and then help advertisers find the right message to reach me.”
Phil Schraeder on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-schraeder-a971855/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/philschraeder
GumGum: https://www.gumgum.com/
Timestamps:
1:31: Phil shares his experience growing up in the suburbs of Chicago and how being the middle child provided him a lot of freedom
3:22: Erik asks about Phil’s partner and the crazy story about how they got to know each other and now have been together for 17 years
4:54: Phil talks about some of the formative experiences he had as a kid realizing that he couldn’t play dress up with girl’s clothes and how that has impacted him today
7:55: How those early experiences has formed Phil’s approach to leadership
11:07: The exciting things going on at GumGum in the marketplace and in the workplace
16:08: Why Phil has been with GumGum for 10 years and the challenges he has faced in his different positions
19:19: Phil’s career path from KPMG to accounting for the movie industry to eventually moving into different positions in the tech space
23:52: How Phil dealt with moments of discrimination in the workplace as a gay man
30:38: The shifts in DEI being made in the ad tech industry and how important it is to keep it progressing rather than letting it be a moment in time
33:49: The many places Phil draws inspiration from, including Gen-Z and the LGBTQIA community
37:20: The three apps Phil uses the most on a daily basis for running, shopping, and news
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