Media.net, one of the largest global advertising technology companies, today announced that Vaibhav Arya will assume the role of CEO. Founder and current CEO, Div Turakhia, will now act as a special advisor to Shuzhi Technology, parent company of Media.net.

Div Turakhia founded Media.net as a bootstrapped startup, and in 2016 sold it to Shuzhi (formerly known as Miteno) in a transaction valued at $900 million—one of the largest ad tech acquisitions ever. Arya has been part of Media.net leadership since the company's founding. Media.net has continued to grow consistently since its sale. It now counts 1,300+ employees worldwide vs 800+ in 2016, who are continuing to build the smartest and most sophisticated ad solutions available. Media.net's last quarter (Q3 2018) has been its highest revenue quarter in Media.net's history, and it is projecting this financial year to be its highest revenue year to date.

"Arya has our full support and endorsement to usher in a new phase of expansion for Media.net," said Zhiyong Zhang, Chairman. "Arya has built one of the most agile and innovative technology teams from the ground-up. We're excited to have him on board as CEO as we seek growth by continuing to build our pipeline of new products and breakthrough innovation on the back of key technologies. Further, we are very excited that Div has been appointed as a Strategic Advisor to the Shuzhi board."

"This transition has been in the works for years," says Div Turakhia, Founder, Media.net. "Arya has been part of the leadership from day zero and we have succeeded based on the strength of our technology. Arya's leadership, dedication and tech abilities are world-class. We are having another record-setting year because of his outstanding work."

"I'm incredibly humbled and privileged to be appointed the next CEO of Media.net, and I want to thank the Board and Div for their overwhelming support, and the confidence that they have placed in me," said Vaibhav Arya. "I am fortunate that the entire team here will be continuing with me. I have worked with each of them since the company's founding and across the long transition to take over as CEO. My team and I look forward to continuing to invest in innovation and build Media.net for the long-term."

Arya continued: "An impressive roster of brand-name and long tail publishers rely on our formidable tech stack. Media.net has always succeeded based on the strength of our materially differentiated technology, and our ability to innovate in partnership with our customers. We aim to keep building market-leading technology while unlocking the company's value through further emphasis on partnerships and marketing."

"We see the core opportunity as doubling down on our contextual AI and machine learning capabilities while greatly expanding our sales and marketing capabilities. We will continue to build the ad products that most effectively serve consumers and offer publishers strong revenue solutions. We create products that intuitively understand what people want to see—and they're presented in formats that are consumer-friendly. We take seriously our responsibilities to balance user experience and revenue, while also providing industry-leading user privacy protection."

"Arya will accelerate our growth and further our embrace of AI into our tech stacks—and ensure that we continue to build innovative solutions that lead the market in digital advertising and publisher monetization," said Div Turakhia. "To help with the continued transition, I will be fully hands-on until the end of this year, and subsequently I will continue to be available to Arya and the Shuzhi team in my capacity as the strategic advisor to Shuzhi's board."

About Media.net

Media.net has one of the most comprehensive portfolios of advertising technology in the industry across search, native, display, mobile, local, products and video. Its platform and products are licensed by some of the largest publishers, ad networks and other ad tech companies worldwide. By market cap, Media.net is one of the Top 5 largest ad tech companies worldwide. By revenue, Media.net is the second largest contextual advertising business worldwide. Media.net has 1300-plus employees in key operation centers across—North America, Europe and Asia. Media.net's US HQ is based in New York, and Global HQ in Dubai. For more on Media.net, visit www.media.net.