WorkReduce founder and CEO arrested for solicitation of minor

Brian Dolan, the CEO and founder of WorkReduce, a remote staffing platform that works with major holding companies and tech giants, was arrested in Washington, D.C., last week for solicitation of a minor. The Fairfax County Police Department News reported that the authorities took Dolan into custody after receiving a report from parents alleging that their child was communicating on Snapchat with a person named “Alex”—later identified as Dolan through “digital footprints,” according to the report. Dolan allegedly sent “multiple illicit pictures” to the child and then tried to convince the minor to meet him at a D.C. area shopping center, per the report. Detectives are looking into whether there are more victims. As of Dec. 9, Dolan was being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on no bond, according to the release from the Fairfax County police. A police department spokesperson said they could not disclose any further information on Dolan’s case and, since the case involves a minor, court documents will not be available online. A WorkReduce spokesperson declined to comment. One WorkReduce executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on record, said the company “is aware of the recent serious allegations” against Dolan, and on Monday the company transitioned to “interim leadership.” A second person familiar with the situation said David Hudson, an investor and advisor to WorkReduce, will be leading the company during the transition period. Hudson is a former Nielsen executive and CEO and co-founder of mobile advertising measurement solution MetaConsumer, though the person familiar with the situation said he is not as involved with that company anymore. The WorkReduce executive said the company is having “ongoing” conversations with clients but did not provide more details. Ad Age obtained the memo WorkReduce sent to clients on Wednesday regarding the situation, noting that it had begun the process of removing Dolan as an officer and director, “given the severity of the allegations ... We want to assure you that while our team is deeply disturbed by this news, the company is 100% committed to serving you, and this will not impact the quality of services you receive in any way," the memo said. The memo reads: Hello, We want to share some very difficult news that you are likely to hear in the media over the next few days. Brian Dolan has recently been arrested and charged with a number of serious crimes unrelated to WorkReduce. We want to make sure that you hear this from us first and are aware of our plans moving forward. Given the severity of the allegations, effective immediately the company has transitioned to interim leadership, and we have begun the process of removing Brian as an officer and director of the company. The board has also started the process of implementing a permanent leadership transition plan. We will provide further details as soon as these plans are completed. We want to assure you that while our team is deeply disturbed by this news, the company is 100% committed to serving you, and this will not impact the quality of services you receive in any way. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your sales or client success representative. Best Regards, The WorkReduce Team The company’s clients listed on its website include major holding companies such as WPP, Publicis, Interpublic Group of Cos., Omnicom Media Group and Dentsu, as well as tech giants Google, Microsoft and Samsung. On Wednesday, the company’s “Our Team” page had been scrubbed. WorkReduce was founded in 2014 by Dolan, a former software developer and head of sales for connected TV platform DataXu. The company outsources affordable media buying talent to agencies for services such as paid search and analytics. Its business took off during the COVID-related lockdowns in 2020, when shops were forced to undergo layoffs. It has continued to service understaffed holding companies amid a shaky economy that has pressured client budgets. Dolan had become a rather well-known name in the ad industry—often seen at networking conferences and quoted frequently in the trades on talent and hiring trends. He lives in Washington. WorkReduce is based in Boston, though it is fully remote.

WorkReduce founder and CEO arrested for solicitation of minor

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