Miles Brehm is the director of platform and go-to-market strategy at Yahoo, which is in the middle of an ad tech resurgence. “Yahoo, in general, has been undergoing a kind of refresh, renaissance type of thing,” Brehm said, “and that’s equally true on the DSP side.”

As a demand-side platform, Yahoo is cementing its place in programmatic advertising as it competes with Google, The Trade Desk, Amazon and others. Brehm, 39, has been with Yahoo for years, starting in 2015, before leaving briefly in 2022 and returning in 2023.

Yahoo alums are more than aware that they work for a classic internet brand, known for its popular online properties and leading in internet advertising. Yahoo employees “bleed purple,” Brehm said, referring to the iconic color of its “Y” logo.

Now, Yahoo is evolving for the programmatic age, which is in flux. There are changes to mobile ecosystems and internet browsers, including Apple’s Safari, which have restricted data sharing, forcing ad tech companies to develop new tools to foster digital marketing. Brehm is responsible for bringing Yahoo’s message to marketers, promoting new products such as Yahoo’s Blueprint, which applied new AI advances into the DSP, and Backstage, which has direct integrations with publishers. Yahoo also is focusing on connected TV as a next frontier in programmatic.

“What I’ve been most proud about is kind of changing our own perception about how we have something to be really proud of,” Brehm said. “And we should talk about that in the marketplace and talk about that with our customers and take more pride in that.”

If you could have dinner with one person, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

My mom! Cancer sucks and I’d love to make her laugh again.

What are the top two social media sites you use on a regular basis?

Instagram and Twitter (can’t bring myself to call it X).

What’s currently on your bedside reading list?

“The Goldfinch” and “Pocket the Private Eye.”

What was the last show you binge-watched? 

“Derry Girls,” for probably the fourth time.

At what age do you hope to retire? 

My youngest should graduate college when I’m 58 … so, 58!