Peter Hanlon named Skyrise CTO
Skyrise has today named Peter Hanlon as Chief Technology Officer, with ultimate responsibility for the technology infrastructure which underpins Skyrise audience design and targeting platform.
Peter has almost 30 years’ experience in big data, driving cross-functional teams and leading data and technology transformation across multiple sectors including entertainment, retail and telecommunications.
Prior to joining Skyrise, Peter has held senior data architecture and technology positions at Barclays, Sony, Electronic Arts, Tesco and Telefonica. Most recently he was Head of Data and Analytics at Xiatech, a customer experience specialist that works with retailers to unify data and insights.
A decade ago Peter worked with Skyrise co-founder Alex Petrie on leading the design and development of the Smart Steps big data platform at Telefonica. This would go on to form the basis of a new approach to geo-intelligence using aggregated, anonymised data on movement from billions of daily network events.
In his new role he will be responsible for Skyrise’s technology teams of platform development and delivery excellence. He will ensure the platform has the right overall structure and architecture, as well as the best talent and partners. The platform analyses millions of ad opportunities and buys the most effective ones across any channel based on the audience insight, campaign budget and marketing goals.
Peter will work closely with the senior leadership team at Skyrise to ensure the delivery of a high-quality experience for advertisers and agency partners.
Speaking about his new role, Peter said:
“I’m really excited to be joining Skyrise, a pioneer at the forefront of data and evidence based advertising. As CTO I look forward to building and aligning a technology strategy that allows Skyrise to continue the momentum that it has built through its data-first solution. As someone who has worked with big data throughout my career, it is very exciting to join a company with such a unique proposition, that is using geo-temporal data in such an innovative and compelling way. The company works with some great brands, and I’m delighted to be taking the lead of such a talented team as they evolve their offering and deliver long term sustainable growth.”
Skyrise Co-Founder (and Chief Innovation Officer) Alex Petrie said:
“Technology is such a critical part of our company and key to Skyrise’s strategic objectives. The success of our platform highlights the importance of data and technology for both the audiences who see our ads and the advertisers who serve them. I know from first-hand experience that Peter has a proven track record of delivering data-first technology architecture and furthering its capabilities. We were a formidable team ten years ago working with mobile network data, and will be even stronger this time around. I am delighted he is on-board and look forward to working with him to super-charge the next stage of our development.”
The appointment follows the recent announcement that Skyrise and Virgin Media O2 Business have signed a new five-year partnership to provide Skyrise customers with exclusive audience design and data-based insights.