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Mark Zagorski on advertising industry

From Referee to Co-Pilot: Ad Verification in the Age of AI with Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify · January 27, 2026 · Signal & Noise

“We have one main constituency who we serve and that is the advertiser — over 90% of our revenue comes from advertisers; there are many buying and selling platforms that do what we do but they have skin in the game, which we don't.”

Mark Zagorski

Chief Executive Officer & Director, DOUBLEVERIFY HOLD INC

Controversial advertising industrycorporate independenceconflict of interest

On January 27, 2026, Mark Zagorski, Chief Executive Officer & Director at DOUBLEVERIFY HOLD INC, spoke about advertising industry during Referee to Co-Pilot: Ad Verification in the Age of AI with Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify on Signal & Noise.

Watch on YouTube at 5:09

Referee to Co-Pilot: Ad Verification in the Age of AI with Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify

January 27, 2026 Signal & Noise

Watch on YouTube at 5:09

Ad verification is no longer just about blocking bad ads—it’s becoming a core input into how media is planned, optimized, and measured. In this episode of Signal & Noise, hosts Rio Longacre and Brett House sit down with Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify, to unpack how verification is evolving in the age of AI. Mark brings a rare perspective, having led multiple AdTech companies across market cycles—from building and selling eXelate to Nielsen, to turning around Telaria, and now steering DoubleVerify as a public company. We discuss how that background shapes his philosophy as DV moves from being the industry’s “referee” to a more active co-pilot for marketers focused on outcomes. The conversation covers a wide range of timely topics: DV’s strong recent performance and what’s driving it, the shift from protection to performance and attention, and how acquisitions like Scibids AI and Rockerbox signal a tighter connection between media quality and business results. We also tackle some of the industry’s toughest debates—over-blocking and its impact on quality news, the role of AI in verification and optimization, CTV fraud and measurement gaps, sustainability and carbon signals, and how brands can invest confidently in credible journalism without sacrificing suitability. This is a candid, operator-level discussion about trust, transparency, and accountability in modern media—and what it really takes to connect quality signals to outcomes in a rapidly changing ecosystem.

About Mark Zagorski

Chief Executive Officer & Director · DOUBLEVERIFY HOLD INC

Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify, has been discussing the company's expansion from ad verification into performance measurement and optimization. He described a strategy of moving "from protection to performance," citing acquisitions of Cybids, an algorithm-based optimization company, and Rockerbox, a multi-touch attribution and media mix modeling firm, as steps toward integrating verification, optimization, and outcomes measurement into a single platform. Zagorski stated that DoubleVerify's core driver is that "media quality drives performance," and that the company aims to help advertisers "know what works, what didn't, what's good quality, what's bad quality, and to get it for the cheapest price possible." Zagorski has also addressed the impact of artificial intelligence on digital advertising. He said AI is "both a great tool" for creating content and improving targeting, but also "creates challenges" such as ad fraud and the spread of disinformation. He noted that DoubleVerify uses AI to analyze content and detect fraud, and described AI-generated "made for advertising" content as "AI slop" that is safe but not necessarily suitable for brands. Regarding Netflix's ad tier, Zagorski said the platform "hits the Holy Trinity" of quality, performance, and scale, and that ad dollars are moving from traditional linear TV and other video platforms to Netflix. He also discussed DoubleVerify's investment in the adtech fund First Party Capital, saying it provides "strategic access" to innovation and that the fund's operators have "a vested interest" and "know exactly what is valuable and what's not valuable."

Profile compiled from Mark Zagorski's verified public interviews and appearances. See all quotes & transcripts →