Moloco Mission: 5 Year Reflections

I joined Moloco 5 years ago today. That’s 40% of my adtech career. It’s been a wild ride, and an honour to play my part in the Moloco journey.

Very early on, I understood that Ikkjin Ahn is a leader who is all about the people. He is invested in positive transformation. By this, he means the transformation of Moloco by Molocans and the transformation of Molocans by Moloco.

My journey in the intervening five years has been as transformative personally, as it has been professionally. None of it would have been possible without the people around me. I mark this occasion with deep gratitude to so many, only a very few of whom I list below:

The London Supersonics

This is where it all started in 2012. The Supersonics had some amazing years together many moons ago. Years that are hard to beat and a family that’s not been broken. Thank you guys for sticking around.

James Salins - your big heart never fails.

Callum Carmichael - thanks for not firing me…. Many times over!

Isabel Ferreira - you and your hubby have become such great friends you even built our family home.

Giles Davis - wisdom, kindness, and understanding as the wilderness drew in. Thank you so much.

Danny Cormack - truth speaker, self-deprecator, eternal cynic - never change.

Vincent Schmiedhausler - gym-trepreneur: you march your own path - congratulations!

David White - what larks we had. Times have changed though - likely for the better ;-)

The Early EMEA Molocans

None of what Moloco EMEA is enjoying could have happened without your dedication and excellence in the first year or so after we launched. The sheer level of effort and commitment you all demonstrated brought Moloco to EMEA in a way I could never have imagined was possible.

Alex Pittaway - Moloco’s EMEA success is your own. Thank you so much for all that you did and continue to do.

Mateo Andres Delgado - you now run Moloco’s EMEA agency business - never a role more deserved.

Miriam Ianni - you came, you saw, you conquered.

Alex Sorochynskyy - friendly terminator.

Fearghus Keeble - you gave up solving physics for solving performance. Moloco wins.

Zain Haque - you popped up and you won sales. I can’t wait to see you 10 years from now.

Ben Robin - your brand of weird and wonderful Marmite keeps our industry on its toes.

Alexis Teboul - to think we thought you rejected our job offer. Hindsight makes that a catastrophe happily avoided.

Viccy Winter - a true great, voice of reason, and anchor. Thank you for you… and the wonderful Hendrix.

Early Days EMEA Industry Partners

You guys gave Moloco your trust before we had proof. You supported our growth and our story before anything had been written. You too wrote our story. And huge thanks to all those many partners not mentioned in this shortlist. In so many ways, you ARE Moloco’s success.

Maxim Kirilenko - 5 years ago you made a bet on Moloco having met me just once. The strength of your partnership since then has never diminished. Thank you.

Saikala Sultanova - thank you for your presence, advice, feedback, and kindness.

Tatyana Bogatyreva - ever-present, reliable, and consultative. Thank you for your early and ongoing support of Moloco EMEA

Pau Quevedo - thank you for your faith in an early Moloco and the many introductions you made for us.

Piyush Mishra - always a blast and fun to see you rock up… fashionably late ;-)

Antti Paikkala - tough yet kind. The best litmus test for a pitch.

Alexander Ruban - through thick and thin, we each got married. Congratulations buddy.

Micole Leger ??? - I loved how we reconnected and you brought Moloco to Israel.

Rob Jenkins - Universally loved.

Robert Maclean-Eltham - a bar raiser for Molocans in our early years. We all got better as a result of your questions.

The New Batch

Moloco? 2.0 launched in July 2022. Our business doubled in size. The rewards of scaling a start-up have manifested in the incredible people who have joined Moloco since then.

Francesco Renzo - it’s been a bit of a blast. Thanks for making me better via every chat.

Oleksiy Matveev - brains and banter and you’re old like me.

Sanam L - we finally had a marketing department and what a singlehanded firestorm you’ve been.?

Hamish Dunn (McBeth) - you maintained the high bar we established as you expanded our office.

Sarah Blois - you’re alright for one of ‘em ;-)

Ben Jeger - therapist smartypants tardyarse.

Sasha C. - changing the game for the EMEA team.

Daan Ramaekers ? - Where were dad jokes before you were a dad? Were they even real?

Bridget Blum - recreational runner, professional sprinter.

Sunil Rayan - inputs or outputs? I’ve settled on the confluence.

Emma Cohen (and your whole team) - Thank you all for your ceaseless efforts to be better. It makes you guys the best.

From the many people, partners, clients, and colleagues not listed, and who have supported and contributed to our journey: please accept my gratitude. We couldn’t have done it without you.?

Ultimately - Dock Kim , Ikkjin Ahn - you made a bet on me. Without hyperbole, I owe all that I have to that bet. Thank you both.