Dive Brief:
- Global digital advertising company Trade Desk appointed Nate Olmstead as its new CFO effective July 9, according to a Monday press release and securities filing. The appointment ends a search for a permanent finance chief that began in January after the abrupt termination of then-finance chief Alexander Kayyal, CFO Dive reported at the time.
- Olmstead, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise alum, will take the finance reins from interim finance chief Tahnil Davis at the Menlo Park, Calif.-based provider of digital marketing solutions provider. Davis has served in the interim seat since Kayyal left the Trade Desk after five months as its CFO. With Olmstead’s appointment, Davis will continue to serve as the company’s chief accounting officer, the role she held prior to taking the interim CFO chair.
- “I’m very appreciative of Tahnil’s continued commitment to The Trade Desk,” CEO Jeff Green said in statement. “She has been a trusted steward of our finances for over a decade, and I look forward to her continuing to serve as our Chief Accounting Officer and an advisor to both myself and Nate.”
Dive Insight:
Olmstead, 54, is joining Trade Desk after two years as CFO for Penguin Solutions, an AI memory and infrastructure provider. Before Penguin, he served three years as CFO for tech company Logitech, and logged a 16-years at Hewlett Packard Enterprise in roles including its VP of finance for global operations, according to his LinkedIn profile.
In association with his appointment as CFO, Olmstead is set to receive an annual base salary of $600,000, as well as an initial target annual bonus of $600,000 and a signing bonus of $600,000, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He is also set to receive a grant of time-based restricted stock units, and a stock option to purchase shares of stock with an aggregate target equity value of $10 million.
The CFO appointment is the latest executive leadership shift by the global advertising firm following Kayyal’s abrupt dismissal as CFO. In March, Kayyal also announced he would be leaving the company’s board of directors, with Trade Desk also announcing the appointment of Reddit CFO Andrew Vollero to its audit committee, CFO Dive reported.
In another leadership shift, Samantha Jacobson, Trade Desk’s chief strategy officer, announced her intent to resign from the role on May 7, though she will remain on the company’s board, according to an SEC filing.
With his appointment as CFO, Olmstead will seek to drive “sustained accelerated growth and scale for the company,” according to the Tuesday press release.
For its first quarter of 2026, Trade Desk reported a 12% year-over-year increase in revenue to $689 million, part of the positive impact the company has seen from its strategic upgrades, Green said in a statement. That includes new partnership announcements and integrations, including the first partner—Stagwell—for its agentic AI agents, Koa Agents, according to its May 7 earnings report.
Meanwhile, Trade Desk also reported net income fell to approximately $40 million, compared to about $51 million for the prior year period.
The business is continuing to focus on growth as advertisers and publishers navigate AI’s impact on the media landscape, Trade Desk executives said during the company’s earnings call.
“The start of 2026 has brought unique challenges, including geopolitical uncertainty that our clients are currently navigating,” Davis said during the call, according to a transcript. The company remains focused on the “long-term” in the face of continued uncertainty, targeting a $1 trillion addressable market, she said.
