With ATS London (now sold-out) just a matter of days away, we are announcing our short list for our first 'Ad Tech Personality of the Year' award.

This prestigious prize will be awarded at the end of our sixth ATS London, this coming Monday, 14 September.

It will be decided on the day by attendees via our event app. We have had many nominations for the award, but only four deserving candidates made the short list.

Using a patented 'black box' optimisation candidate shortlist algo (developed by our in-house engineers in Belarus) we have managed to separate the wheat from the chaff.

The shortlisted candidates, and in fact the full list of nominees, is brimming with personality – with all having made significant contributions for both their companies and the industry as a whole.

You will have the chance to vote on the day for one of the following four candidates through the ATS London app. The following candidates have stood out above all other nominations:

Jay Stevens, General Manager, International at the Rubicon Project

A pioneer in European ad tech, Jay setup Rubicon Project's EMEA and International business from the ground up since joining the company in 2009. Well known across all sides of the industry, and well liked amongst clients and staff alike, this is what Jay's nominees had to say about him:

"Jay built Rubicon from scratch in Europe and Internationally. He is a leader, inspiring, and very skilled." And if that isn't convincing enough: "He's had very little staff leaving the company under his management."

Lindsey Clarke, Vice President, Global Advertising Strategy, Krux Digital

With over 10 years of experience in digital media alone, Lindsey is currently VP of Global Advertising Strategy for Krux and has an impressive track record in the industry across publisher solutions and sales.

What Lindsey's nominees said about her: "Lindsey is not only a great representative of Krux to the market [but she also] does everything she can to make sure Krux customers have everything they need to make their data strategies a success." And interestingly: "When she's in the UK, you can find her living on her houseboat on the Thames."

Nigel Gilbert, VP, Strategic Development, EMEA at AppNexus

Nigel is somewhat of an Adtech industry veteran having been a founding partner at Unanimous, which went on to be acquired by Orange. Since joining AppNexus in 2011, Nigel has built a strong reputation across the industry as an advocate of the open ecosystem.

Nigel's nominees had this to say about him: "[Nigel] is constantly educating the market and makes the convoluted market easier to understand, therefore breaking down the secrecy/smoke and mirrors."  In addition: "He is also called Nigel, there's not many around".

Gurman Hundal, Co-Founder at MEDIA iQ Digital Ltd

As co-founder of Media iQ digital (a self-funded independent European Trading Desk) Gurman's experience in the industry and eligibility for an award like this speaks for itself.

What Gurman's nominees said: "No one has ever built a globally scaled, profitable, self-funded business, underpinned by technology – and been under 30 when they started it." And cutting straight to the chase: "He's an obvious choice for ad tech personality of the year".

The final choice rests with you, so get ready to cast your vote on Monday! We look forward to awarding one of these fine eligible candidates the inaugural Ad Tech personality of the year.