Roy de Souza, CEO and Co-Founder

Mr. Roy de Souza, 38, is the CEO and co-founder of ZEDO, the 3rd largest global Internet ad-serving firm and the pioneer in the New Internet advertising.

A visionary, Roy founded ZEDO in Silicon Valley in the midst of the Internet boom in 1999 and long after the bust has not only survived to tell the tale but also thrived. Today, ZEDO has scaled up to 150 people with offices in San Francisco, London, Mumbai, Goa and St Petersburg.

Widely regarded as an expert in ‘Behavioral Targeting’ and Advertising in the New Internet, Roy is a well-known figure in the online advertising industry on the West Coast (USA) and a frequent speaker at ‘ad:tech’ and other industry conferences.

ZEDO focuses solely on Behavioral Targeting as it empowers advertisers to use online information, search engine keywords, pages visited, and shopping activities to help deliver a relevant ad to an interested user at the right time.

User generated content on New Internet sites like Social Networks, Video-sharing sites, Photo-sharing sites etc are increasing their domination on the Internet. Roy therefore views the New Internet as the prime media opportunity.

Prior to ZEDO, he was in product management at Zip2.com, an Internet city guide company that became part of Alta Vista. Before Zip2 he consulted for The COBA Group, a strategy-consulting firm in the UK. There, he gained extensive experience in marketing strategies, consumer goods marketing and advertising, with companies like Avon, Hewlett Packard, and Schwab. He also evaluated potential venture capital investments.

Having started his career in the advanced technology division of Ove Arup & Partners Consulting Engineers, Roy has also worked for Rover Group Cars and Imperial Chemical Industries.

Roy received his MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University, where he served as Vice President of Technology. Roy received his Masters in Engineering and Economics from St. Anne's College, University of Oxford.

On a personal front, Roy is also passionate about transportation and the economic growth of India.

Roy divides his time between San Francisco and Mumbai, India.

Roy reads widely both in the social networking space, current political events worldwide and novels. He likes to keep up to date on most things. His newly acquired interest is also in restoring a 250 year-old house that he and his wife have recently bought.

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