Curt Hecht, Weather Company's chief global revenue officer, an agency veteran and a leader in the digital advertising industry, passed away after a five-month battle with lung cancer. He was 47 years old.
Mr. Hecht joined Weather in 2012 to oversee all digital and cable ad sales, as well as other revenue generation for the company. Mr. Hecht was the visionary for Weather FX, the platform that uses real-time data to help advertisers send messaging to the right audience at the right time, "which has totally changed the value of our audience to advertisers," David Kenny, CEO, Weather Company, wrote in a memo to employees.
"He championed the best programmatic operation in the industry," Mr. Kenny added.
During his time at the company, Mr. Hecht, who was passionate about cycling, also strengthened relationships with key partners like Google, Twitter, Facebook and Heart, Mr. Kenny wrote.
Prior to Weather, Mr. Hecht spent 24 years at Publicis Groupe in a variety of roles, including as head of VivaKi Nerve Center. He also served as chief digital officer at Starcom MediaVest.
"Curt's life mattered to the digital advertising industry, as he pioneered countless innovations with his clients at Starcom MediaVest, VivaKi, Publicis and The Weather Company," Mr. Kenny wrote. "Curt was an early pioneer in search, 'native' advertising, localization, social-informed ads and retargeting. Curt created the first agency trading desk."
"In every tough situation, Curt kept me anchored on what matters -- family first, our people second, clients and audience third and the money will take care of itself," Mr. Kenny wrote.
Mr. Hecht is survived by his wife and two daughters.
A private service will be held for Mr. Hecht this week and a day of remembrance is being planned in Chicago in October.
Weather Company is collecting written memories of Mr. Hecht for his daughters, which can be sent to Mary Paiz at [email protected].
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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article said Mr. Hecht died at 48. He was 47, turning 48 next month.
