Laura Gaffney is Chief Growth Officer at Freestar. She was previously at Prohaska Consulting where she led the Global PubDev and TechDev teams. She was previously at Smaato and Unruly and built a media publisher network for NetShelter Technology from scratch to become the largest technology publisher network across the globe.
Who is your digital hero?
Anneka Gupta.
What has she done to win hero status in your eyes?
She started at LiveRamp as software engineer when they were a team of 20 and rose to the highest ranking positions where she was Head of Products and Platforms.
How has her heroism helped drive digital?
She is one of few women to hold these positions in adtech, sadly, but is a role model for all women in the industry. Along the way she also brought people with her, creating a women luncheon event every year at the Liveramp event where women could meet, network and drive new partnerships.
She has poise, grace and also truly gives back.
What the biggest challenges in digital we need another hero to solve?
I think anyone who can defy the norms or stereotypes in our industry whether it be because of age, gender, or sex can reach their highest potential based on their merits and accomplishments and help change the face of leadership in the digital age.
What is your most heroic personal achievement so far in digital?
Becoming Chief Growth Officer at Freestar and leading, multiple teams in the organisation.
Being able to develop people to attain their fullest potential is not what I would call heroic per see but it’s what I thoroughly enjoy doing.
