Dotdash Meredith Appoints Jim Lawson as President of D/Cipher

Rhea-AI Summary

Dotdash Meredith (DDM), America's largest digital and print publisher, has appointed Jim Lawson as President of D/Cipher, reporting to CEO Neil Vogel. Lawson, former CEO of AdTheorent, will lead D/Cipher's evolution as a premier cookie-less ad targeting solution.

D/Cipher, launched in May 2023, analyzes billions of consumer interactions across DDM's 40+ brands without relying on cookies or personal identifiers. The platform is now used in most of DDM's premium ad deals, consistently outperforming traditional targeting methods. The company has also launched D/Cipher+, enhanced by OpenAI partnership, to extend targeting capabilities across the premium open web with performance guarantees.

Lawson brings significant expertise, having led AdTheorent from startup to NASDAQ-listed company before its sale to Novacap in June 2024. He joins a growing D/Cipher team of 50 people, working alongside SVP Lindsay Van Kirk and Chief Innovation Officer Jon Roberts.

Positive

• Appointment of experienced leader Jim Lawson with proven track record of growing AdTheorent from startup to NASDAQ-listed company
• D/Cipher already integrated into majority of premium ad deals with superior performance metrics
• Strategic partnership with OpenAI enhancing targeting capabilities
• Massive reach of 200 million monthly users providing valuable first-party data
• Performance guarantees offered for both D/Cipher and D/Cipher+ products

Negative

• Relatively new product (D/Cipher launched May 2023) competing in established market
• Heavy dependence on first-party data from DDM properties for targeting effectiveness
• Requires significant investment in 50+ person team and growing

Former AdTheorent CEO to lead D/Cipher's evolution as the premier cookie-less ad targeting and buying solution for the open Internet

NEW YORK, March 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Dotdash Meredith (DDM), the largest digital and print publisher in America, announced the appointment of Jim Lawson as President of D/Cipher, reporting directly to DDM CEO Neil Vogel, to accelerate the growth and development of its D/Cipher contextual ad-targeting solution across the open web.

Jim was a co-founder of AdTheorent, a machine-learning powered DSP (media buying platform) not reliant on individual identifiers, and served as CEO from 2019 to 2024. Jim oversaw AdTheorent's growth from a startup in 2012 to a highly profitable, NASDAQ-listed publicly traded company, culminating in its sale to private equity firm Novacap and merger with Cadent, Inc. in June, 2024.

D/Cipher, launched in May 2023, analyzes billions of consumer interactions and content signals across DDM's more than 40 iconic brands, and does not rely on cookies or personal identifiers to target audiences. Fueled by the first-party data of tens of millions of daily users, D/Cipher understands consumers' intent and context-based interests as they explore content, take action and make decisions.

D/Cipher targeting is now used as part of a majority of DDM's premium ad deals, consistently and meaningfully outperforming cookies and individual-identifier targeting methods.

Newly launched D/Cipher+ builds on the success of D/Cipher to create a new standard of targeting for the open Internet powered by the contextual first-party data of America's largest publisher. Using DDM's proprietary signals and data modeling solutions, enhanced by the company's partnership with OpenAI, D/Cipher+ identifies consumer intent across the premium open web – unlocking materially better ad performance, extended reach, brand-safe inventory, and unprecedented value for advertisers. 

And just as DDM provides a performance guarantee for scaled clients who use D/Cipher, the same guarantee will apply for those that use D/Cipher+.

"Nearly 200 million people connect with DDM brands monthly, so we know better than anyone that context is the strongest indicator of what consumers want," said Neil Vogel, CEO of DDM. "Simply, understanding consumer intent at a given moment drives ad performance way more effectively than personal data."

Continued Neil, "We are incredibly excited to welcome Jim. He is a true innovator who built the industry's leading DSP not reliant on cookies. The combination of Jim's unmatched expertise and DDM's first-party signals will be an accelerant not only for DDM, but for the open web."

Jim joins a D/Cipher-focused team of 50 people and growing, led by Lindsay Van Kirk, SVP and Group GM of D/Cipher (previously at Xandr and AppNexus) as well as Jon Roberts, PhD, and Chief Innovation Officer at DDM.

"The DDM team has developed remarkable offerings and solutions and I am thrilled to join them. We share the perspective that there is a huge need for ad-targeting solutions based on the types of data signals that only DDM can provide with its unmatched scale and sophistication. D/Cipher+ will be a game-changer for all sides of the marketplace," said Jim Lawson. "It's time to make the open web more valuable for advertisers – accessible, brand safe and performance-focused."

About Jim Lawson, President, D/Cipher, DDM

As President of D/Cipher, Jim Lawson oversees the growth strategy and evolution of DDM's ground-breaking intent-targeting advertising solution, D/Cipher.

He was previously CEO of AdTheorent, a programmatic digital advertising leader, where he focused on the company's aggressive growth, innovation and technology leadership.  As a founding member of AdTheorent in 2012 and CEO since January 2019, Jim led the company from a startup to a publicly traded company and market leader, culminating in June, 2024, with a successful sale to leading North American private equity firm Novacap and merger with Cadent, Inc.  While at AdTheorent, Jim led the development of AdTheorent's award-winning products, which have been recognized with industry accolades such as Frost & Sullivan's Digital Advertising Leadership Award (eight-time recipient), the Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards, the Drum Digital Advertising Awards, the Digiday Media Awards (Best AdTech Platform) and the Digiday Technology Awards (Best Buy-Side Programmatic Platform).

Prior to joining AdTheorent, Jim co-founded Augme Mobile in 2008, which later became publicly traded Augme Technologies, Inc. Before turning his focus to technology ventures and emerging businesses, Jim was a Partner in the Washington, DC office of the law firm McDermott, Will, Emery, LLP, where he represented Fortune 100 companies and growing businesses in both litigation and corporate counseling capacities.  Jim was also a Managing Partner of Mogility Capital, one of the initial investors in AdTheorent.

Jim is a graduate of Bucknell University (1994) and Loyola University Chicago School of Law (1997).

About D/Cipher and D/Cipher+

Launched in May 2023, D/Cipher is DDM's ground-breaking intent-targeting advertising solution. D/Cipher doesn't rely on cookies or personal identifiers and instead analyzes billions of consumer interactions and content signals to understand consumers' intent as they explore content across DDM's more than 40 iconic brands. Since launch, D/Cipher has meaningfully outperformed cookies and other audience targeting methods across more than 30 campaigns.

D/Cipher+ builds on DDM's flagship D/Cipher solution to create a new standard of targeting for the open Internet. Powered by a technology integration with DDM partner OpenAI, D/Cipher+ uses the same data, enhanced targeting technology and AI-powered capabilities as D/Cipher to identify consumer intent anywhere on the Internet – unlocking new brand safe inventory, extended reach and value for performance advertisers with the same performance guarantees.

Learn more here.

About Dotdash Meredith

Dotdash Meredith (DDM) is the largest print and digital publisher in America. Nearly 200 million people trust us each month to help them make decisions, take action, and find inspiration. Dotdash Meredith's over 40 iconic brands include PEOPLE, Better Homes & Gardens, Verywell, Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, Allrecipes, REAL SIMPLE, Investopedia, and Southern Living. Dotdash Meredith is based in New York City and is an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IAC).

 

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SOURCE Dotdash Meredith

FAQ

What is D/Cipher and how does it differ from traditional ad targeting solutions?

D/Cipher is DDM's cookie-less ad targeting solution that analyzes consumer interactions across 40+ brands using contextual first-party data instead of personal identifiers, consistently outperforming traditional cookie-based methods.

How does D/Cipher+ enhance DDM's advertising capabilities?

D/Cipher+ extends targeting capabilities across the open web using DDM's proprietary signals and OpenAI partnership, offering better ad performance, extended reach, and brand-safe inventory with performance guarantees.

What experience does Jim Lawson bring to his role as D/Cipher President?

Lawson co-founded and served as CEO of AdTheorent from 2019-2024, growing it from startup to a profitable NASDAQ-listed company, specializing in machine-learning powered advertising without individual identifiers.

How many consumers does Dotdash Meredith reach monthly?

Nearly 200 million people connect with DDM brands monthly, making it America's largest print and digital publisher.

When was D/Cipher launched and what are its current adoption rates?

D/Cipher launched in May 2023 and is now used in the majority of DDM's premium ad deals, with proven performance superiority over traditional targeting methods.