Find out more about Massimo Fontana,  head of our Italian office, including his past experiences, current role, and plans for the future.

1. Who are you and what do you do here at CPX?

My name is Massimo, and I am the Country Manager for CPX Interactive Italia. I am in charge of the Italy office, which was the first International branch of CPX Interactive.  Since the beginning, I have been establishing the company, seeking out local business, and working with the global CPX team to drive the company’s long-term local success. I also evaluate partner strategies, and establish and facilitate key business relationships.

2. What kinds of things to do you do on a daily basis during a normal work day?

Since I’m responsible for a country, I need to manage and coordinate all processes including, administration, marketing, sales, and publishing. So, my working day is made up of many different things, but my main daily focus is to be sure that all the people working on the Italian team are happy to work for CPX!

3. What is your favorite thing about working for CPX?

The mood of the company and the people I work with are my favorite things. I’m a pioneer, always looking for some dream to be realized. CPX has a dream and I want to be a part of realizing this dream!

4. What is your professional background?

I have more than ten years of experience in the Internet and telecoms sectors. Since the beginning of my career, I have been exposed to the changes that innovative technologies bring to business models, value chains and lifestyles. My focus in this area has been on helping companies transform their business to exploit the benefits of digital innovation. I have extensive experience in collaborating with teams to drive digital business growth, and always work closely with end-user customers in converting new technologies into tangible business benefits.

5. What are some of your future goals for CPX Italy?

To drive the company’s long-term local success and to be one of the leading online advertising players in Italy.

Meet the rest of the CPX Italy Team!

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CPX Interactive Italy was established as the company’s first international office. Since opening its doors in May 2008, the Milan office has come online and up to speed extremely rapidly. In fact, after only 18 months, CPX Interactive was already one of the largest Italian ad networks, with more than 60% of market share, according to comScore. Meet the CPX Italy team!

Massimo Fontana, Country Manager With more than 10 years of experience in the Internet and telecoms industry, Massimo brings considerable experience in building out online divisions for US and European companies (Massimo was responsible, and was the first employee, for MSN.it start-up,  and a key player in the development of AltaVista.it, now a Yahoo! company).  Massimo also brings to the table a background in the International financial markets and, more recently, in the interactive mobile space, having served in senior roles at both Ericsson and Dada.net.

Cecilia Sandrucci, Publishing Manager Specializing in Communication and Mass Media, Cecilia worked at Tiscali as Advertising Account Manager, and became Marketing Manager at Intelia Spa. After that, she worked as Publisher & Media Buyer at TradeDoubler Italia, consolidating her experience in the Marketing and Advertising Industries.

Marco Viscardi, Sales Director Marco’s career has always been focused on Sales, and he has worked for some great brands in the advertising industry, like Cairo Pubblicità Spa, 24/7 Media Italia, IT Media (Il Sole 24 Ore Group), Publikompass, Yahoo Italia and Video Click Advertising. In September 2009, thanks to his brilliant background, he was made Sales Director at CPX Interactive Italia.

Raffaella Doronzo, Sales Manager Raffaella has been a Sales Manager at CPX Interactive since September 2009. After receiving a degree in Public Relations at the IULM University in Milan, she started working in the advertising and press industries, starting with CAIRO Editore. After that, she specialized in Web Marketing by working at Video Click and HURRA’ GMBH in Stuttgart.

Mariano DeLuca, Sales Account Manager Mariano’s great knowledge of online marketing activities (performance based marketing, search engine optimization, email marketing), has led him to succeed in companies like Trade Doubler. After a year spent in Paris working for Facebook, he will join CPX Italia in December as Sales Account Manager.

Francesca Alberti, Intern Francesca received a First Class Master Degree in International Management at the Catholic University in Milan, specializing in corporate communication and foreign languages.  She is now working at CPX Interactive as Marketing Trainee.  Francesca has always been interested in Web Advertising, thanks to her first experience at Voltimum Italia Srl, the leading service provider for professional e-marketing in the electrical industry.

In International news, CPX Interactive had the pleasure of exhibiting in Milan, Italy at the IAB Italy Forum, November 3-4. IAB Italy is known as the most important online advertising event in Italy.

With more than 4,000 attendees and 60 sponsors, the Milano Convention Center was packed with media-owners, advertising agencies, media agencies, researchers and publishers.

This was the second year CPX Interactive attended this event.

“There is a lot more energy here than last year,” said Rob Rasko, President and COO of CPX Interactive.

The CPX Interactive Italy Team includes: Country Manager, Massimo Fontana, Publishing Manager, Cecilia Sandrucci, Sales Director, Marco Viscardi, Sales Manager, Raffaella Doronozo, Sales Account Manager, Mariano De Luca and Marketing Intern, Francesca Alberti.

By Mike Zacharski
VP of Publisher Acquisitions, CPX Interactive

When we first opened offices in Europe (Italy and Spain), we had a vision of how we wanted these International incarnations of CPX to turn out. The process was much like telling someone about your favorite place, and then hearing their own opinion after they’ve made their own memories there. Before each new office opened, we did all we could to teach them what it meant to be CPX Interactive, but then we had to step back and let them develop into their own. I spent this past week visiting CPX Italy, and the following is my recounting of how they have taken the core of CPX and added some Italian flavor:

Milan, the city itself, is modern and fast-paced. It is the fashion capital of the world and it’s a great mix of the traditional and modern. Of course, the Internet is not new to Italy. There are many successful online companies there, and Milan has grown into a hub of activity in the space since the late 1990s. Companies based there include those that service the local market as well as others that span globally and reach hundreds of millions of users in many countries. Most of the major .com’s have offices there, along with the .it’s, and you feel a definite and established online culture there, something both traditional and modern.

We have a dynamic staff led by Massimo Fontana as well as Piero Mundi on the Ad Sales side and Cecilia Sandrucci on the Business Development/Publishing side. They are like our Italian cousins, and the office is equally vibrant and lively. The days do seem to go by much faster there though, as interfacing with the US begins in the middle of the day…or maybe it’s the 2-3 espressos.

My first few days, I was focused on working with Cecilia and Henar Perez, our new hire who flew in from our Spain office. I spent the last few days there going to meetings with some of the publishers located in town.  Our team is very well respected, and as it was explained to me by a friend, “the online world is a large city with a small population”. This credibility and respect is tied deeply into the culture of the country and part of the traditional way of doing business in Italy, yet at the same time, there is a deep appetite for change and growth built on new technology and a global approach, as well as a vision of media and consumption.

There is a heritage of understanding there, a very academic approach to things. Companies and people desire to learn and understand all things fully, and from all angles. There is also a sense of nationalism and pride in Italian companies and brands and a genuine welcoming of those institutions that, like CPX, have opened their doors here, and are looking to service the local market. We have the opportunity to educate a hungry market on the value of our company while at the same time filling the needs of a growing marketplace.

We have been successful there, and will continue to be, because we have aligned our solutions to meet the local needs. We reach 11 million unique users each month. We provide scalability and value for publishers and for advertisers, and we have traffic solutions from numerous sources, such as local publishers, large .com’s, and exchanges, to create campaigns that can provide branding as well as performance. We are bringing with us efficiency, as well as the experience of being a global player and of course, a healthy sense of competitive appetite and creativity that has always set us apart.

CPX is welcome in Italy, and in a short time we have established ourselves as a strong and respected brand in the market. All in all, it was great to see how the Italy team has taken the foundation that we laid for them and carved out their own place in the online advertising space.

Contact CPX Italy:

CPX Interactive Italia
Via Conservatorio, 22
20122 Milano-Italy
Italy@cpxinteractive.com
http://cpxinteractive.it/

As part of ad network’s plan to expand its global footprint and support its position as a thought leader in the online advertising industry, CPX Interactive will sponsor the November 4-5 IAB Forum in Milan, Italy. The ad network’s Italian team is lead by country manager, Massimo Fontana. Fontana and his team will sponsor a booth on the exhibit floor of the Forum as well as lead a workshop reviewing cross-platform opportunities marketing opportunities available to brand and direct advertisers in today’s market.

The full agenda for the Forum can be found HERE (though only in Italian).