Catalyst Employee Spotlight: Vlad Lubimov

You can have the best data and most sophisticated tools, but it doesn’t mean anything without great people. Fortunately, at Catalyst, we have no shortage of great people. From Search Associates to Search Directors, and from Project Managers to Managing Partners, each member of the Catalyst team is committed to maximizing client business results and making Catalyst a world-class agency. Read our Employee Spotlight series to meet some of the team members responsible for making Catalyst an all-star agency partner and a great place to work.

Meet Vlad

Name: Vlad Lubimov

Title: Group Director, Programmatic Services

How long have you worked at Catalyst or GroupM?

I have worked here for eight years.

How long have you worked in programmatic and what type of clients have you worked on?

I have been working in the programmatic space since my senior year in college and have been in various programmatic disciplines for 12 years. My client work has spanned across CPG, ecommerce, retail, education, travel, and performance marketing.

How did you get your start in programmatic?

I went to Pace University in NYC with a major in Finance and a minor in Economics wanting to work on Wall Street. Graduating into the recession of 2009, I had lost opportunities to work in finance, so I coincidently found a role at a digital ad network start-up where I started to learn network ad-operations.

What do you like most about working at Catalyst?

There are so many! But the most important to me has been how eager everyone is to help one another out, and the scale of expertise internally that covers a wide range of channels and disciplines.

What has been your greatest achievement or success in programmatic?

I personally find the greatest achievement in seeing those who I have mentored grow their careers. Looking back, I have worked with some great teammates over the years who I’ve been able to learn from as well. I’m looking forward to continuing to collaborate with great colleagues.

In your opinion, what is the most important programmatic trend or change for 2021?

The biggest change is going to be centered around the future state of privacy, and a cookieless future. These two different sides of the same coin that will fundamentally change how digital advertising will be practiced in the future and while there is not a consensus on where it will go yet, it will be an interesting year to come. Getting ready for this in advance is a very important initiative that all teams are focusing on today.

If you had to give one recommendation to an advertiser who wants to use programmatic to achieve business results, what would it be?

Invest in collaborating with your programmatic team to understand how we can tie in media performance relative to the business outcome we are trying to complement or drive. It is very important to establish a strong measurement framework across all types of executions and having test and learn strategies as an always-on initiative.

Share a fun fact about yourself

Recently, I adopted a Beagle mix named Joey. Eventually, I’ll get a second and his name will be Chandler (or Phoebe). Friends is one of my favorite TV shows.