Recognized as one of the leading women in technology by Forbes, Maria Sipka works closely with Linqia’s brand and agency clients and is one of the industry’s top experts on influencer and content marketing. Prior to founding Linqia, Maria was the founding COO at XING, Europe’s leading business network, where she led XING’s communities and premium group offerings, exiting shortly after its IPO. She also founded the content marketing agency Cherry Communications at age 18 and grew the agency to be one of the most respected consultancies in Australia, with a client list of over 100 brands.
As Chief Operating Officer, Daniel is responsible for setting the go-to-market strategy and leading all revenue generating functions for the business, including sales, marketing and customer operations. Prior to Linqia, Daniel served as the Chief Client Officer for TubeMogul, where he led the company’s global ad operations, client service and account management teams. He was also an instrumental member of the team that led the company through its IPO and subsequent acquisition by Adobe. Prior to TubeMogul, Daniel spent ten years at Experian CheetahMail, where he served as the VP of Business Development and VP of Client Services. Daniel started his career as a consultant for Deloitte Consulting and holds a BS in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.
In his role as Senior Vice President of Sales, Sascha oversees all aspects of sales at Linqia. Prior to joining Linqia he served as VP Sales Americas at Shutterstock Inc. and was later elevated to VP global media & entertainment. Before Shutterstock Sascha served as VP Global Sales at AnyClip, a SaaS video platform for large Enterprise clients and before that as SVP of Global Sales at the Branded Entertainment Network (BEN), a network that connects brands to their target audiences through integration into premium content. Prior to that, he held senior management roles leading global content licensing agencies Corbis and Getty Images. Sascha started his career in Europe before relocating to New York in 2008. He holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from Dusseldorf Business School in Germany.
As the VP of marketing at Linqia, Sarah Fruy is responsible for everything from brand and product marketing to growth marketing and demand generation. Most recently, Fruy served in a number of growth-focused roles at Pantheon where she led the strategy, goals, and road map for Pantheon’s demand generation efforts, public-facing website, branded assets, partner marketing program, and experimentation practice. Fruy is a ScrumMaster® and Certified Agile Marketer who joins Linqia with over 15 years of experience in the online advertising, digital media, and website operations industries, along with marketing strategy and digital marketing certifications from Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management. Previously, she worked at emerging media companies, such as Say Media, as well as heritage brands like the San Francisco Chronicle. Fruy is a guest contributor on many popular websites as well as a frequent public speaker having delivered thought leadership presentations at conferences including Martech, DrupalCon, Digital Summit, DMWF, Growth Innovate, and more.
Labeled a leading voice in the intersection of marketing and technology by Forbes, Keith has led sales and marketing strategy for some of the worlds largest and innovative brands including Bud Light, Dove, Axe, Pepsi, Nissan, and Microsoft. Keith has spoken on some of the biggest marketing stages with the brightest brand thinkers, from CPG global leaders to tech icons like Jack Dorsey. As Vice President of Brand Strategy at Linqia, Keith works with leading brands to develop 360 influencer strategies that drive scalable, measurable business results. Keith lives (and works) in San Francisco, California with his wife and daughter.
As the VP of Creative at Linqia, Yak leads a team devoted to pushing the boundaries of creative and innovation to develop the most compelling influencer marketing concepts for our clients. Prior to Linqia, he was the Head of Creative Strategy at AOL/Verizon media, developing award-winning creative in partnership with publishers like HuffPost, Engadget, TechCrunch, and Microsoft/Xbox. Yak is an experienced public speaker, leading thought leadership presentations and discussions at global events like CES, Cannes, Mobile World Congress and Intrigue Marketing Summit. Yak lives in the Bay Area with his wife and twin children, who consistently inspire his creativity. To escape, he creates upcycle furniture, remodel rooms of his home, and is trying to teach himself the guitar (all advice is welcome).
Drew Weicker is the Vice President, Business Development at Linqia. With 20+ years of advertising & technology experience, Drew has led multiple teams throughout the industry. Beginning on the advertising agency side at McCann-Erickson, which led to roles at Hearst, WebMD/Medscape, DoubleVerify & now Linqia.
Drew received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and holds an MBA from Fordham University. He lives in NJ with his wife & daughter.
As Linqia’s CEO, Nader Alizadeh is responsible for setting and executing on the strategic footprint of the company. Prior to founding Linqia, Nader was a Senior Vice President and Co-founder for Lithium Technologies where he was responsible for driving and managing revenue growth for the business. Nader joined Lithium Technologies as a co-founder when it was first incorporated, and carried broad responsibilities in both the sales and operations departments. With a proven track record identifying strategic partners and cultivating key business relationships, Nader has also held key executive and management roles at Ofoto (now Kodak Gallery), Fuji, and Konica.
