The Trade Desk makes three ANZ and APAC leadership moves

The Trade Desk has appointed Ellyse Kostoglou to lead business development in Australia and New Zealand and promoted her predecessor, Stephanie Famolaro, to oversee new business across Asia Pacific.

The adtech company has also moved Jonathan Munschi into a newly created role advising senior marketers on using AI and other emerging technologies.

James Bayes, The Trade Desk’s vice president of business development for ANZ, said the three appointments drew on the company’s existing leadership team and would support its work with advertisers in Australia and New Zealand and across Asia Pacific.

“As advertisers navigate an increasingly complex media landscape, our focus remains on helping clients embrace innovation, make more informed decisions and drive measurable business outcomes,” Bayes said.

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Kostoglou takes charge of ANZ business development

As general manager of business development for ANZ, Kostoglou will oversee the local team and lead its work with brands and agencies.

Kostoglou takes on the ANZ role after four years at The Trade Desk. She led global partnerships from its UK office before spending the past year working with clients in Australia. Before joining the company, she spent a decade in agencies and four years at Amazon.

“Having spent the past year working closely with clients in Australia, I've seen firsthand the appetite for greater innovation, transparency and performance,” Kostoglou said.

She said her priority would be to deepen The Trade Desk’s relationships with brands and agencies across ANZ and help them measure what their advertising delivers.

Famolaro takes on Asia Pacific growth remit

Famolaro will lead new business development across Asia Pacific as vice president of growth. She spent the past nine years building The Trade Desk’s ANZ business, developing local teams and client relationships.

“Across APAC, advertisers are increasingly recognising the value of independent, data-driven advertising to drive meaningful business outcomes. Having helped build The Trade Desk's presence in ANZ over the past nine years, I'm looking forward to bringing that experience to new markets and opportunities across the region. With Ellyse leading our ANZ business, we're well positioned to continue strengthening client partnerships and supporting the next phase of growth,” Famolaro said.

Munschi moves into new CMO advisory role

In the newly created Business Transformation and CMO Consultancy role, Munschi will work with senior marketers on how to use AI and other emerging technologies to streamline operations and improve advertising effectiveness.

“AI is creating new possibilities for marketers, but the real opportunity lies in translating technological innovation into tangible business value. As the industry evolves, marketing leaders are increasingly focused on how they can use technology to transform their function, customer experience, and the business at large. My priority is to help clients turn emerging capabilities into meaningful competitive advantages,” Munschi said.

The appointments come as The Trade Desk rolls out AI tools including Koa Assistant, specialised Koa Agents and Open Agentic Kit. The company reported an average 32 per cent improvement in cost per acquisition in early results from its Kokai Zuma rollout.