Executive brings 25 years of Advertising, Technology and Media Experience to Company
Orlando, Florida (September 14, 2015) – IZEA, Inc. (OTCQB: IZEA), operator of the premier online marketplace that connects brands with influential content creators, announced the addition of Patrick Venetucci to the company’s Strategic Advisory Board. Venetucci has 25 years of experience leading technology, marketing and media initiatives for some of the world’s leading brands. He is currently Founder and CEO of MobileAngelo Group, a technology investment and consulting firm devoted to advancing mobile platforms. He advises a number of tech companies such as Solstice Mobile, Signal, and Quiver to accelerate their growth in the mobile, data, and messaging spaces.
Over the past 10 years, Venetucci has held a number of executive roles at Leo Burnett Worldwide, a leading advertising agency with over $1 billion in revenue, 90 offices worldwide and 9,000 employees. Venetucci was most recently President of Global Operations, where he oversaw key multinational accounts, corporate business planning, M&A, enterprise technology, HR and internal audit.
“We are thrilled to tap into Patrick’s unique insight and industry prowess as we continue to develop our IZEAx platform, onboard industry partners, and evaluate strategic M&A opportunities,” said Ted Murphy, Chairman and CEO of IZEA. “Patrick has spearheaded social media efforts for top global brands and understands the dynamics of our industry as few others do. His leadership experience at one of the world’s top agencies will be invaluable to us, and we appreciate his involvement.”
Venetucci has a passion for growing businesses by aligning business strategy with people, technology and innovation practices. Among his many accomplishments include: growing Samsung into one of Leo Burnett’s top global accounts in three years; launching the agency’s first global social media practice across 24 markets worldwide; and authoring Leo Burnett’s global M&A strategy and leading eight global M&A deals in digital and retail marketing.
“IZEAx is uniquely positioned to connect the fragmented sponsored social landscape,” commented Venetucci. “I’m looking forward to partnering with the IZEA leadership team to bring the industry game-changing innovation.”
During Venetucci ‘s 23 years at Leo Burnett, he was a member of the global operating board, executive compensation committee, and global M&A deal team. While living in Tokyo during the late 90’s, Venetucci started Beacon Digital, Leo Burnett’s first interactive service offering in Japan. He developed his first mobile solutions on NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode platform for multiple clients including Prudential Investments, P&G and Heineken.
Venetucci holds a MBA in finance, marketing and entrepreneurship from the University of Chicago, and a BA from the University of Iowa.
