Alice Beecroft, Co-Founder of Yahoo DSP, on the leadership conversation marketing keeps losing, the rebalancing act between brand and performance now AI is reshaping discovery, the bowtie demand model, and what it takes to scale a fully remote agency through a pregnancy and a young family.
"Systems will start communicating with systems."
Twenty-two years across digital advertising, present at the launch of real-time bidding and now at the pivot to agentic communication. Alice Beecroft on why the DSP becomes a connected intelligence layer rather than another interface to log into, why targeting is going hybrid not pure deterministic or pure contextual, why walled gardens are being forced into collaboration, and what twenty years of advocacy has taught her about hiring neurodiverse talent into a creative industry.
Alice Beecroft trained as a software engineer and joined OTPmedia as Head of Ad Operations in 2004, well before programmatic became the industry’s default. A serendipity moment, in her telling, where she discovered she preferred the front of the platform to the back. Six years at OTPmedia, a year at Burst Media, then through Millennial Media, AOL (post-Millennial acquisition), Oath, Verizon Media and Yahoo, building international DSP product strategy and partnerships. Since March 2022 she has been Senior Director of Global Strategy and Partnerships at Yahoo DSP across Canada, the UK, Australia and Singapore.
In this conversation with host John Horsley, Alice frames her career around two transformational pivots: real-time bidding, which brought automation to buy and sell at once, and the agentic shift now underway. She walks through what a connected-intelligence DSP looks like, why deterministic identity at 345 million scale still matters in a contextual-first AI era, why the channels where cookies were never going to work (CTV, audio, DOOH, commerce) need a hybrid identity strategy, what Channel 4 on YouTube and Netflix on Amazon tell us about walled-garden economics, and what twenty years of neurodiversity advocacy has taught her about how to build inclusive technology workplaces.
"I was a software engineer back before digital marketing was even a thing. Serendipity. I decided back of house was not where I wanted to be."
Alice’s start was OTPmedia in 2004 as Head of Ad Operations, well before programmatic became the industry’s default operating model. The technical training stayed with her through Burst Media, Millennial Media and AOL, through Oath, Verizon Media and Yahoo, into international DSP product strategy.
"RTB then. Agentic now. Both pivots changed the buy and the sell at the same time."
Real-time bidding brought automation to the foreground for the entire ecosystem in one motion. The agentic shift now underway is the second pivot of comparable scale: changing how humans communicate with systems and how systems communicate with systems. Alice considers herself grateful to have been present at the start of both.
"Over 2026 and 2027 customers will no longer come into the DSP UIs."
Yahoo DSP’s thesis is open ecosystem. Agentic execution will happen inside the platform and DSPs will sit as the intelligence layer between agency stacks, identity, supply, retail, measurement and creative. Today brands log into many platforms one by one. Tomorrow they will work inside their own stack and systems will negotiate the best path through. Humans stay in governance.
"Context is more than what is on the page. It is mindset, moment and motive. And 345 million deterministic identifiers globally."
Chrome’s cookie reversal was a sigh of relief, not a green light to coast. CTV, audio, digital out-of-home and commerce were never going to be cookie channels. Alice’s argument is hybrid by design: deterministic IDs at scale anchor modelling for frequency, attribution and audience extension; contextual signals (including geo) carry the channels where deterministic does not reach. The channel mix sets the balance.
"Channel 4 on YouTube. Netflix on Amazon. The lone wolves are coming together."
Measurement has matured enough to show who is creating ROI and who is not. That pressure is bringing the walled gardens to the table. Channel 4 distributing through YouTube, Netflix carried on Amazon, Netflix-Spotify partnerships. The biggest will still walk solo, but the bar for staying solitary keeps rising. The future is more collaboration, not less.
"How do you ask the right question? That is the new skill set."
Host What drew you into programmatic?
Beecroft Software engineer originally, back before digital marketing was even really a thing. Serendipity moment. I decided back of house was not where I wanted to be. I liked the client communication, I liked seeing things happen before my eyes. Programmatic was just starting to evolve and I wanted to be at the front and centre of the new technology.
Host The most important shift.
Beecroft Two transformational pivots. The first was real-time bidding and the adoption of automation across the whole ecosystem. The second is happening right now, agentic communication. The way humans communicate with systems and the way systems communicate with systems is changing. I am very grateful to have been there at the start of RTB and to be at the start of agentic.
Host Where does agentic go?
Beecroft It changes how buyers and sellers interact with platforms. At Yahoo DSP we work in an open ecosystem. Over 2026 and 2027 customers will no longer come into the DSP UIs. Systems will start communicating with systems. The DSP becomes a connected intelligence layer.
Host Choosing technology partners.
Beecroft Humans still sit in the driving seat. Agents will not communicate with agents without human oversight any time soon. Governance becomes more important, not less. We are omni-channel and global, so partners have to transcend US to Europe to APAC, handle privacy regulation robustly, bring something unique on identity, location, measurement, and bridge linear and digital. Not just TV. Audio, commerce, digital out-of-home.
Host Are advertisers ready for omni-channel?
Beecroft Some are, some are not. A lot of it comes down to how they are structured internally and with the agencies they work with. Specialists give you depth but fragmentation. Where we see brands engaging the DSP in a direct manner, they are operating more unified.
Host Biggest growth opportunity.
Beecroft Commerce. Not retail, commerce. People hear retail and think CPG. Commerce extends to beauty, travel, much more. The majority of people still shop bricks and mortar, but the majority of media they consume is digital. We have to link those without cannibalising budgets.
Host Identity in the post-cookie era.
Beecroft Layered. Chrome's reversal was a sigh of relief but people did not take their foot off the pedal. Huge supply is non-addressable, especially in out-of-home, TV, commerce. Deterministic IDs are still prevalent. At scale they let you build models for frequency and attribution and audience. Yahoo has 345 million deterministic identifiers globally. We are in a strong position on both addressable and non-addressable.
Host Deterministic or contextual?
Beecroft Hybrid. Both have their place. Contextual is more than what is on a page or in a video; it carries mindset, motive, what point of the day someone is in, and signals like geo. The strategy depends on what the client is trying to achieve and where in the funnel.
Host Measurement.
Beecroft Independent verification is important and a few large players are the recognised foundation. Proprietary measurement also has a place, especially when there are signals that cannot be made available everywhere. As long as you are transparent on methodology and willing to run test-and-learns, it is viable.
Host Different markets, different ecosystems.
Beecroft Vendor by vendor, definitely different. Singapore has unique landmass dynamics. Australia is full of regional setups and nuances. But underneath everyone is chasing the same thing: omni-channel, the best ROAS, performance test cases. So the strategy underneath tends to be consistent.
Host Building global products for local markets.
Beecroft Build where it is going to be used. Not every capability is needed in every market. We aim for global parity but vendor penetration and privacy regulation force adaptation. A core part of my role is making the Yahoo DSP available as a global platform with the capabilities to land properly in every market.
Host Has programmatic become too complex?
Beecroft Yes, but not for everybody. Some clients want plug-and-play and to hit performance goals. Others want full control. Programmatic has to offer choice and control on both sides.
Host Automation or decision intelligence as the next driver?
Beecroft Both. A large percentage of programmatic time is still spent on human communication with platforms rather than thinking about strategy. Automating that, especially discovery, is the lever. Decision intelligence is about meeting multiple KPIs at once, because brands today do not run on a single KPI. AI is enabling faster, multi-KPI decisioning.
Host The new skill.
Beecroft How do you ask the right question? How do you position a strategy that gets the best out of the LLMs? That is the new skill set.
Host Walled gardens and collaboration.
Beecroft Measurement has matured to a point where ROI is visible. The pressure forces collaboration. Look at the last fourteen months: Channel 4 on YouTube, Netflix on Amazon. Lone wolves we would have said never would collaborate are coming together. It will not be open season, but more collaboration is coming.
Host TV and audio as natural bedfellows.
Beecroft The way people consume media on any given day is not siloed by channel or publisher. So your media planning cannot be siloed either. We have run case studies showing incremental uplift across upper and lower funnel when TV and audio are combined.
Host Neurodiversity at Yahoo.
Beecroft I have just been promoted to global co-lead of Yahoo's Neurodiversity ERG, alongside my partner Ashley in the US. Neurodiverse people think differently. In an innovative, fast-paced, creative industry that is a feature. The ultimate goal is for neurodiverse hiring to be as unremarkable as a woman in a role. Just normal and natural.
Host Building inclusive workplaces.
Beecroft Knowledge and awareness first. Neurodiversity is not one size fits all. Look at your hiring tactics. Look at the building itself. At Yahoo our meeting rooms have two sets of lights, wall cladding for noise sensitivity, dyslexic fonts, hybrid working, multiple work areas. Neurodiversity in Business is a great resource. Corporate partnerships help too.
Host Advice to younger marketers.
Beecroft Upskill yourself. There are free courses from companies. Learn a few platforms. Get your hands dirty. Get involved in the network. Come to industry events. Partner with organisations like Digi Learning. Be curious. Be confident. Just not too confident.
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