Daryl Goodman-Gordon has enjoyed an eighteen-year career in the industry, which has included stints at Twitter, DoubleVerify, Clinch and now Squared.io, where he holds the position of VP of Sales. We asked Daryl to name his digital hero.
1. Who is your digital hero?
I’ve been lucky, or perhaps just crazy enough, to spend the last 20 years immersed in adtech and martech, often in startups, always in hyper-growth stage companies. Over that time, I’ve learned from some incredibly inspiring people. Often, it’s not just about learning what to do, but also what to avoid. One of the exciting things about this industry is that it’s constantly evolving, and you have to stay sharp to keep up.
There are two people I’d like to recognise who have had a lasting impact on me.
First, Pascal Gauthier, who was my VP of Sales and Marketing and later COO at Criteo. Without Pascal, Criteo would not have become the success it was then, or the global force it remains today. He taught me the importance of being both a sharp strategist and a visionary. I still watch his ongoing success with respect and fondly remember the time we spent building something special.
Second, Aoife Desmond, who was Senior Manager and Product Specialist for EMEA at Twitter. She was my line manager and remains one of the sharpest leaders I’ve worked with. Aoife always brought a balance of strategic clarity and personal empathy. She taught me how important it is to lead with both intelligence and heart.
2. What have they done to win hero status in your eyes?
Pascal demonstrated what true strategic leadership looks like, particularly in the early days of programmatic. He had the foresight and the discipline to help build a business that could scale globally without losing focus.
Aoife showed that leadership doesn’t have to come at the expense of humanity. She empowered people to do their best work by creating a culture of trust, thoughtfulness, and clear direction. She made strategy feel personal and actionable.
3. How has their heroism helped drive digital?
Pascal helped bring scalable, algorithm-driven advertising to the mainstream at a time when it was still considered experimental. He helped define what effective performance marketing could look like and set the standard for many who followed.
Aoife guided brands and partners through the early complexities of social advertising. Her approach helped ensure that innovation didn’t undermine trust, and that user experience remained central even as platforms pushed for rapid growth.
4. What are the biggest challenges in digital we need another hero to solve?
AI. There’s a huge amount of potential, but also plenty of confusion, fear, and hype.
Many businesses I speak with are still unsure about how deeply AI should be integrated into their operations. Generative AI, in particular, is still unfamiliar territory. The challenge now is to create efficient, sustainable workflows that balance human input with machine capability.
Relying too heavily on humans for repetitive tasks slows companies down. But leaning too far into automation risks eroding the creative edge that sets brands apart. The next digital heroes will be the ones who help businesses find that balance and use AI with purpose.
Helping to shape and scale Squared.io into a trusted platform for global brands and agencies is something I’m incredibly proud of. We’ve created a platform that enhances the performance of paid search using AI, while reducing manual effort, governance gaps, and wasted spend. It’s designed to empower people, not replace them. That feels like exactly the kind of solution digital needs right now.
5. What is your most heroic personal achievement so far in digital?
Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to work across multiple stages of the digital advertising evolution, from early programmatic to today’s AI-powered platforms. One achievement I’m especially proud of is helping shape strategies and workflows that prioritise both performance and integrity. This means ensuring that the technology we build serves business goals while also respecting the needs of end users.
Whether guiding go-to-market efforts, collaborating with product teams to solve meaningful customer problems, or embedding best practices into how teams operate, I’ve always worked to align innovation with accountability. For me, that’s where real impact happens, creating solutions that deliver value without compromise.
