O’Brien, Tess

Tess O’Brien is VP/Head of Buy-Side Revenue for FreeWheel, a global technology platform for the TV advertising industry. In this position, she oversees all revenue for FreeWheel’s buy-side software and technology – spanning the demand side platform Beeswax and cross-media campaign planning, activation and optimization platform Strata, covering existing and new business strategic growth opportunities.
 
Since joining FreeWheel in 2016, she has spearheaded the company’s product commercialization – reimagining how the existing technology reaching across four platforms and 50+ products could be used in new ways – and strategy globally. She also played a key role in developing the product roadmap for many of the company’s new product offerings and industry solutions, including an initiative in which FreeWheel launched an audience-based TV buying technology. This effort allowed for unified planning across premium linear and connected TV, representing a huge step forward in better connecting buyers and sellers. Within her current role, Tess has been instrumental in Beeswax’s substantial material growth – both in momentum and revenue – as well as Strata’s transformation of the product suite to further evolve alongside the industry.
 
In her free time, Tess serves as the co-chair of the Women in Advertising and Media employee resource group at FreeWheel, encouraging the next generation of female leaders to take charge in the industry. An inspiring leader, strong collaborator, workplace mentor and thought leader, Tess has been recognized by media outlets such as Business Insider, which named her a 2023 “Rising Star in Adtech,” and Adweek, which spotlighted her as a 2019 “Young Influential.” She has also been quoted and featured in media outlets such as Ad Age, Adweek, AdExchanger and Beet.TV. Before her tenure at FreeWheel, she held various commercial and corporate development roles, including at Foxtel Media in Australia. Tess earned a Bachelor of Arts in communications and a law degree from the University of Technology Sydney. She is an alumna of Comcast’s Women in Leadership program.