Who we are

Ryan Steelberg is a seasoned technology executive and pioneer of digital and data-driven businesses. He is currently the Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Veritone, Inc., a leading AI software and services company, public on NASDAQ. He also serves on its Board of Directors. Previously, he served as the President of Veritone, from 2015 to 2022. Prior to Veritone, Mr. Steelberg served as Chief Executive Officer of Brand Affinity Technologies, Inc. Prior to that, he served as the Head of Broadcast at Google Inc. From 2002 to 2007, he was the Co-Founder and President of dMarc Broadcasting, an advertising technology company that was acquired by Google Inc. in 2006. From 1998 to 2000, he served as President and CEO of 2CAN Media, a company that was acquired by CMGi. From 1995 to 1998 he served as President of AdForce, a company that was also acquired by CMGi in September of 1999, after its IPO earlier that year.

Evelyn is an Associate Director and leads the Media Management Team in client launch, campaign management, and onboarding. She leverages her cross-departmental experience to develop methodical operational changes to drive efficiency. Evelyn prides herself in creating automated and productive solutions for clients and network partners alike. Outside of the office, Evelyn is an avid runner, jump-roper, writer, and stone-skipper.

Conor currently oversees Veritone One's strategic direction. This includes client activation and success, media investments, and product development. His key areas of focus are ensuring that Veritone One’s people are supported with the most comprehensive aiWare and data-enabled product suite available in audio/influencer media and guiding investment teams into fully leveraged areas of growth while making sure our relationships and reputation are second to none. Conor lives in Solana Beach with his wife and three boys. When he's not at work, you can find him at the beach, herding cats on the baseball diamond, or rooting on the soon-to-be-World-Champion San Diego Padres!

Courtney joined Veritone One in 2018 and has held several positions, starting as a Media Coordinator and growing into the Director of Podcast Media. She now oversees new business opportunities, existing client success, and an awesome team of podcast media buyers that works diligently to plan, negotiate, procure, and optimize client campaigns. Relationships are vastly important to Courtney’s team, and they take great pride in the relationships they've built with partners in the ecosystem. Courtney is obsessed with college football and her Australian Shepherd, Poppy.

Hilary Shafer is the VP of Podcast and YouTube Influencer. With over a decade of agency experience, Hilary was an early adopter to influencer advertising and has been instrumental in growing and leading best practices within the industry. She brings a performance oriented, relationship focused, and data driven approach to her leadership of the Podcast and YouTube media buying teams. Hilary is an outdoor enthusiast and loves to spend her free time hiking, gardening, and exploring San Diego with her husband and baby.

Sean King oversees the Commercial Enterprise division at Veritone including Veritone One. His forward-thinking marketing and operational insights have solidified Veritone One as the leading AI-powered audio and influencer advertising agency in the world. Over the past 20 years, Sean has held various senior level management positions focusing on sales management, technology operations and strategic partnership development. He is passionate about finding new ways to refine operations, create new opportunities, and applying practical uses of AI and synthetic media.

Jess is the SVP of Media & Operations. Her experience in the industry spans from traditional advertising to programmatic and solutions engineering. Prior to her current position, she worked in the agency space on a variety of brands across all verticals. Her focus is on developing lasting relationships with brands and prioritizing data-driven approaches that deliver impactful business outcomes for Veritone clients. Jess has a BA in Communications, with a specialization in Public Relations from Michigan State University. She lives in Rochester, Michigan with her husband Ben and cat Charlie.

As the SVP of Growth, Bart has nearly 20 years of experience in media, strategy, and account management experience. He oversees the growth and development of our marketing channels, encompassing Radio, Podcast, Youtube, Streaming and Social. With an extensive background in performance marketing, Bart uses his breadth of knowledge to cultivate media relationships and create unique opportunities to promote client scale and success. He continues to be at the forefront of maximizing client performance through new and existing media channels that align with the evolution of media consumption habits.

Becky leads the Veritone One media teams in addition to forging deep relationships with all media vendors. She brings more than 30 years of media experience on both national and local levels in addition to both client and agency experience. Becky’s experience allows her to understand the importance of media performance from both the media vendor side as well as the value of the return ratio for advertisers. Becky enjoys spending free time on her ranch with her family and animals including horses, a mule, goats, pigs, chickens and lots of dogs!

As the VP of Revenue Operations, Bonnie manages revenue targets and pacing, while also leading our Media Management & Operations departments. She has led various cross-functional roles in analytics, buying, activation, and account management. While she experienced rapid agency growth, Bonnie’s diverse knowledge fueled a passion: discovering, creating, and improving operations, ultimately benefiting internal teams, brands, and the agency’s ability to scale. Her podcast and influencer journey started PSE (pre-"Serial" explosion) in 2011, when inventory outnumbered advertisers and networks were scarce. Media consumption is ever-evolving, and Bonnie believes the power to monetize a new space is only as successful as the most dynamic agency.

Ian brings over 25 years of experience as an award-winning, results-driven creative with an extensive record of success in audio to his role as Veritone One’s Creative Director. From an early age, his favorite question was: Why? Diving into “the why” a consumer would be interested in a product or service is at the core of everything he does creatively. Discovering “the why” helps hone and craft messaging designed to exceed client’s goals. When not hard at work on client campaigns, Ian’s passions are his wife, two Jack Russell Terriers, cars and sneakers (generally in that order!).

As the VP, Controller, Ilene has over 15 years of experience in corporate accounting, finance, and senior-level management in multiple industries. Joining Veritone in 2020, she leads the Veritone One accounting team who manages the financial transactions of the business, ensuring we provide excellent service to our clients, vendors, and employees, while meeting compliance requirements and deadlines. With an MBA in Finance and an extensive background in operations, sales, M&A, integration, and automation, Ilene uses her breadth of knowledge to problem solve and partner with other leaders to provide solutions to the business. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and relaxing on their boat.

Melissa started her career in influencer marketing in 2016 after graduating from the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University. She got her start working with micro-influencers on an affiliate program, then quickly moved into planning and activating large-scale podcast, social and YouTube campaigns for Performance Bridge / Veritone One clients. Leveraging her unique knowledge of influencer buying processes, Melissa began to establish and grow the Media Management department in 2019. In 2021, she returned to her passion for building strong creator-brand relationships by taking over the YouTube team as Director.

Mike heads up the Media Analytics team at Veritone One, which is responsible for measurement and reporting on the performance of our media buys, as well as custom analytics to drive strategic insights for our clients. Mike brings over 20 years of experience leading marketing analytics teams on both the agency and client sides. He lives in the metro-west suburbs of Boston with his wife, two daughters, and two cats. Mike is also his neighborhood's self-proclaimed Pickleball champion and welcomes all challengers.

Tucker is a seasoned leader and strategist with over ten years of experience in audio advertising. As head of the Strategy Team at Veritone One, he is responsible for launching new campaigns and growing existing business through effective strategies that exceed client expectations. Tucker's unique blend of creativity and analytical rigor, combined with his commitment to staying on top of industry trends, allows him to push the boundaries of what's possible in audio advertising. When not at work, Tucker enjoys traveling, hiking, and any and all water sports.

Paulina joined Veritone in 2017, working with customers to onboard, train, and support adoption of Veritone's aiWARE platform before moving to Veritone One in 2019 to build and oversee the agency's Media Operations team. The Media Operations team is responsible for program management, ad verification, and client campaign compliance, utilizing aiWARE to ensure that paid media is reviewed and executed to meet all contractual obligations.

With over a decade of agency experience, Robyn has been at the forefront of the rapidly evolving digital ecosystem. Her innovative approach has helped brands across a multitude of verticals break into the streaming and social space. As an extremely goal-oriented individual, she enjoys using data to test, learn, and exceed her client's DR goals. Robyn currently lives in Orange County and enjoys backpacking with her husband and toddler.

Zeus’s career spans over 25 years as a leader in the radio, broadcast sales, and agency space. He spent fifteen years in the Southern California radio market, nine of which were at iHeart Media in Los Angeles. Zeus was a Co-Founder of ROI Media Direct which was acquired by Veritone and rebranded to Veritone One in 2016. Zeus was instrumental in its growth into a superpower for all audio, podcasts, and YouTube. Zeus is widely recognized throughout the industry as the “go-to” for growing businesses and taking them to national brand status—brands such as Dollar Shave Club, DraftKings, LegalZoom, SimpliSafe, and more.

Shannon’s over two decades of experience make her an invaluable member of our team. Having been a client and now working for an agency provides her useful insights and the ability to closely relate to and act in the best interests of our clients. Shannon’s experience in planning, strategy, and buying across all channels has led to her working with and guiding many of our largest and most complex accounts. Her ability to see the big picture and lead the account management team with compassion and innovation help drive overall results. At home, Shannon plays referee to her two sons (and husband!) and enjoys keeping up with their school events and latest interests.

As Vice President, Account Management at Veritone One, Richard oversees client partnerships and leads the team on large scale media initiatives. Richard’s agency background includes experience in healthcare, CPG, ecommerce, finance, beauty, technology, and more. Throughout his career, Richard has helped Fortune 100 companies and startups alike grow their business, improve their media mix & expand on their abilities to measure campaigns. He enjoys spending time with his wife & daughter, traveling & reliving the glory days playing rec league softball.