Magnite (NASDAQ: MGNI), the largest independent omnichannel sell-side advertising platform in the industry, today announced the appointment of Johannes Paysen as its new managing director for Central Europe.

An industry veteran with over 20 years of experience, Paysen joins Magnite from global location technology company GroundTruth (formerly xAd GmbH) where he served as head of Germany & MENA. He is tasked with managing the continued growth of the Central Europe region including Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Poland and other operating markets. Also bolstering Magnite’s EMEA presence is the promotion of Stephen Wing as head of EMEA for Magnite, and James Brown who now serves as head of international, overseeing Magnite’s commercial business in EMEA and JAPAC. Sylwia Sajewska and Anne-Cathrin Voltmer will lead the buyer and seller teams respectively for Central Europe, reporting into Paysen.

The appointment comes as the German digital advertising sector displays resilience and strength. This year the market share of programmatic video advertising on the video advertising market in Germany is expected to be 44.9%, growing from 35,8% in 2019 (source: Statista). Additionally, almost 40% of German households own a television connected to the internet (source: The IAB Europe Guide to Connected TV), and this number is predicted to increase, presenting a perfect opportunity for programmatic growth. Magnite is in a strong position to be a leading figure in the future of the German digital advertising landscape, being the largest independent omnichannel programmatic platform in the world.

Discussing the German ad market, Stephen Wing, commented: “This year has presented the industry with the opportunity to display its innovative and adaptive nature. In Germany, digital ad spend is predicted to rise by 0.8% to €7.38bn (£6.65bn) this year according to eMarketer. Being an independent platform, we want to  ensure that publishers have a better understanding of life outside wall-gardens when they make ad spend decisions. This is why we are delighted to have Johannes leading the way for our German team and their efforts, both in market and the wider Central Europe region. His years of experience and irrefutable understanding of data and marketing analyses will ensure that we continue to deliver better quality outcomes for our clients, no matter what or where their goals may be.”

“It’s a really exciting time to be in the industry because we have to be constantly adapting and moving,” said Johannes Paysen. “I am thrilled to be joining the impressive Magnite team. Working alongside Stephen, James and the rest of the Central European team, I hope to uphold all of the great work they have accomplished in being at the global forefront of SSPs. We will strive towards ensuring that publishers can continue to sell advertising on their own terms across any channel or platform whilst maintaining transparency and effective collaboration.”