Our Industry Profile takes a look at some of the professionals working across the advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector in Australia. It aims to shed light on the varying roles and companies across the buzzing industry.
Mitchell Greenway: Vice president publisher development EMEA, APAC at OpenX
Time in current role:
I've been in my current role for about a year and a half, and I've been in the industry for around 15 years. I’ve also just taken on the role of Chair of IAB Australia’s Executive Technology Council.
How would you describe what the company does?
OpenX is an independent omni-channel SSP and a global leader in supply-side targeting, transparency, and sustainability. Through our 100% cloud-based tech stack, we power advertising across CTV, app, mobile web, and desktop, enabling publishers to deliver marketers with improved performance and dynamic future-proofed solutions.
Speaking of which, we recently unveiled OpenXSelect™, a next-generation curation and supply-side targeting platform for brands and agencies. Developed in close collaboration with leading global brands and agencies, it brings together years of buyer feedback, rigorous quality standards, and ongoing innovation into one cohesive offering. Simply put, it’s an easy button for buyers, enabling faster campaign setup, greater control, and superior results.
What do you do day to day?
Day to day, I focus on a mix of strategic thinking and tactical alignment, working closely with our teams in APAC and EMEA while staying aligned with global initiatives. A big part of my role is bridging the gap between North America, EMEA, and APAC, ensuring strategic alignment across these markets to drive growth for our emerging teams. And, of course, I also spend a lot of time mentoring and coaching our people.
Define your job in one word:
Bridge.
I got into the industry because:
I got into the industry almost by mistake after graduating with a commerce degree in business and organizational psychology. I wasn't entirely sure what my career path would be, but I landed my first sales role at a small B2B digital publishing house. From there, I found myself bouncing around various digital roles across the ecosystem, each one teaching me something new and ultimately leading me to where I am today.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
One of the biggest challenges I face in my role is navigating the complexity of cultural and business tendencies across so many different markets. In Southeast Asia alone, there are 13 distinct markets, each with its own nuances. Japan is a completely unique and somewhat isolated market. Then you have North Asia, including Hong Kong, China, and China Export, and the UK and EMEA region, including Germany. Each of these countries and micro-markets operate in a different way, and that presents a real challenge when you're trying to run a global platform with a "one-size-fits-all" approach. This is definitely one of the biggest challenges for our operational team and for me as a leader.
What’s the biggest industry wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
The standardization of programmatic signals. This includes everything from the signals publishers send through the bid stream to the purchasing signals that DSPs communicate. Right now, there's a lot of complexity that's created a grey area in adtech that some companies take advantage of. I believe the next big challenge we can — and should — solve is ensuring all platforms speak the same language and are fully transparent about that language. This way, buyers and sellers can truly meet in the middle and reach the same conclusions.
Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
John Gentry, OpenX's CEO, has been a huge influence in my career. Not only has he been a mentor, but also a friend and someone I look up to as a young professional navigating a similar path. He’s someone I can lean on, bounce ideas off, and continuously learn from. When I face challenges or failures, I know I can take them to John and receive honest, constructive feedback without harsh criticism, and that kind of support is invaluable.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
In addition to staying curious and adaptable, one of the largest challenges in the next two to five years, not just in adtech but across many industries, will be the emergence of AI and the blend of hard and soft skills needed to succeed. My advice would be to really focus on honing those soft skills. The ability to connect people, understand and digest the data and insights that AI platforms provide, and effectively communicate that information will be crucial accelerators for anyone’s career. Those soft skills are what will truly make a difference for someone aiming for a role like mine.
If I wasn’t doing this for a living, I'd be:
I'd like to think I'd still be a professional rugby player, but I hung up those boots many years ago. I imagine I'd be doing something creative, maybe in construction or DIY, because I love the process of building, designing, and bringing something to life from start to finish.
My philosophy is:
A large part of my professional philosophy is that honesty will always win out. There's so much value in being truthful, and trust really stems from that honesty with clients, partners, and vendors. Even if it means losing a contract or a deal in the short term because you advised a client to choose an alternative solution, that honesty will be remembered in the long run. What goes around comes around, and ultimately, living and running your career with that kind of integrity leads to more wins than losses over time.
My favourite advert is:
The 2019 'Dream Crazier' campaign by Nike. As a father of a young daughter, it gave me chills and made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. It evoked such a strong reaction in me, and it made me want my daughter to have access to the whole world of possibilities. It was just such an emotive, well-constructed, and beautifully executed campaign.
Music and TV streaming habits:
When it comes to music, I'm currently in my country phase, streaming lots of Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen, and even some Post Malone in the mix. For TV streaming, I've been enjoying Critical Role on YouTube. It's a fantastic series where a group of voice actors role-play Dungeons & Dragons. Each episode is a couple of hours long, which makes it perfect for listening on the bus or winding down before bed. I'm a bit of a geek at heart, so I think it's fantastic!
What do you subscribe to?
I pretty much subscribe to them all. One media industry newsletter I subscribe to is U of Digital. They provide broad earnings reports and summaries across adtech and marketing, as well as discussions around mergers, acquisitions, and opinion pieces on what these changes mean for the industry. It's a really valuable newsletter, and I think anyone in the industry would get a lot of insight from it. And, of course, I subscribe to AdNews to stay updated with the latest happenings in the industry.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I like to think I'm an open book with my colleagues, but one thing a lot of people in the industry might not know about me is that I’m an avid gamer. I’ve been passionate about gaming ever since I first picked up a Game Boy at around eight or nine years old, and in my early twenties, I even considered going into gaming journalism or development. I think gaming is an amazing platform that encourages creativity, problem-solving, and social interaction, and it’s just a great way to escape and challenge yourself.
In five years' time I'll be:
In five years' time, I see myself being ever-present in my kids' lives, hopefully coaching my son’s rugby team and my daughter’s soccer team. Professionally, I’d like to continue helping clients, friends, and colleagues navigate whatever challenges the industry brings over the next five years. Things evolve so quickly in our field, but I know I want to stay involved in media and adtech because I’m truly passionate about it and feel lucky to do what I do every day. So I definitely see myself here for many years to come.
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