Chris Outram: Life at adMarketplace

Meet Chris Outram, our VP of Infrastructure, who is responsible for maintaining the security, stability, and scalability of our platform. We checked in with Chris to learn more about his role and why he joined the tech team at adMarketplace:

1. What brought you to adMarketplace?

The adMarketplace products really grabbed my attention. I’ve been in the marketing industry for over 10 years. I have worked with agencies, DSPs, brands, you name it. The focus was always on how to capture consumer data.

I was delighted to see that adMarketplace targets consumer intent - not demographics. I’d never heard of a company taking on the challenge of redefining search marketing while protecting user privacy. With the industry moving towards a cookie-less environment, I saw the immense potential in our products.

Another reason I decided to join was the interview I had with the tech team. They were all really great. So, I instantly knew I’d found the right fit.

2. What did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be an engineer. For example, the way phones evolved and eventually became ubiquitous amazes me. As an engineer, you feel a specific bulb go off as you’re building things. This really doesn’t feel like a job because I can constantly innovate and build. That’s how I know I’m in the right place.

3. For our non-tech readers, what exactly does Infrastructure mean?

We have three key focuses: Stability, Security, and Scalability. We make sure adMarketplace’s tech platform is functioning properly and continuously has a recovery plan. Basically, we make sure that the system is always running.

We also make sure that things that shouldn’t get out, don’t get out. And things that shouldn’t get in, don’t get in. That’s the easiest way to understand security. Scalability is two-fold: how do we get more inbound business and how do we reduce our footprint when we don’t hit those high spike moments? Those are the three key areas we focus on.

4. What advice would you give to prospective adMarketplace employees?

adMarketplace has been in the ad tech industry for 21 years which is rare and comes with a lot of positives. We have a really sophisticated technology operation that you can learn a ton from. We’re really looking for steady hands that can bring it to the next level. You can expect to gain exposure to a lot of principal infrastructure frameworks and learn from them.

5. Rapid-fire: answer the following questions.