Csaba Szabo boasts more than fifteen years of experience in scaling global software and technology companies. The current Managing Director of the EMEA region at digital media company Integral Ad Science, he has also worked as VP at Shutterstock and as senior commercial director at Yahoo.
In his own words, Csaba is “passionate about using technology and data to build superior product experiences.” He joined IAS earlier the year as saw the role as “a great opportunity to build on the powerful product suite and talented team to make digital advertising more efficient and impactful.”
We caught up with the man himself this week to get to know one of digital advertising’s rising stars a little better.
Tell us a bit about your role! Is there a “typical” day?
I like starting my day early, usually waking up at 6am. I purchased an indoor rower at the start of the pandemic and it gives such a fantastic all-round workout for my body early on in the day. I never take my mobile phone into our bedroom, which means I don’t start looking at emails until I prepare breakfast for the family.
I start most working days with skip level one to ones across the region. I adopted this approach when the pandemic forced us to work from home. These 15 min check-ins have been a great way to stay connected with our employees when in-person meetings have been restricted.
I have to say, I have welcomed the change since our offices re-opened again and most travel restrictions have been lifted.
Over the past few months, I’ve been spending time meeting our teams and partners across Europe. I’ve witnessed first-hand how our numerous locations run impressive operations, truly working together as one team and acting in the best interest of our customers, whether in the office or collaborating virtually.
What was the biggest challenge in getting to your current position?
Many American tech companies are ‘global’ in name only, but in reality they struggle figuring out how to scale their operations globally. IAS has been a refreshing exception.
Throughout my interviews I could already get a very good sense from our CEO, Lisa Utzschneider and her leadership team that our strategy and our resourcing model is truly global and our EMEA business has a great support from the Mothership.
With this mindset, there is no wonder that in a very competitive marketplace, IAS has established a market-leading position across EMEA and APAC.
What is your personal background and what role did it play in your career?
I grew up in the poorest corner of Hungary, my parents were both first in their families to earn a university degree. They put a lot of emphasis on education and the importance of learning. Since my early years, I have been carrying with me a strong belief in work ethic, including the importance of preparation and perseverance.
As they say, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”, and it couldn’t not be more apt for our industry. Things change quickly, technologies evolve at an increasing pace, and one needs to learn and adapt constantly to keep up or face being left behind.
I also have a younger brother who was born with mental disabilities. Witnessing his struggles, his determination to overcome the challenges he has been dealt with since our childhood, gives me greater perspective and helps me appreciate all the small things in life without allowing complacency to creep in.
What is your biggest career-related win? What is your biggest loss?
One of the biggest challenges I have ever faced as a leader was managing through the pandemic when I was leading the EMEA region at Shutterstock. It really threw us a curveball with challenges that now we can admit we were hardly prepared to address.
Yet, we were able to connect with each other on a level that was previously unseen, through the months of remote working we let quasi strangers into our living rooms, studies and spare rooms via virtual connections.
I deliberately started to spend much more time with the employees in the organisation to remain connected to their day-to-day challenges. As a result, we managed to get through the pandemic with hardly any attrition, improving employee engagement scores and unparalleled growth in our business.
Which individuals and/or agencies do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
I am fortunate to work for an organisation where I am surrounded by value-driven individuals. Over the last couple of months, I have been truly inspired by our employees' response to the crisis unfolding in Ukraine. Many of them volunteered, donated, and offered shelters to those impacted by the war. This compassion and kindness serve as a daily reminder of what is great about humanity.
If you could go back to your teenage years, would you have done things differently? Do you have any regrets?
When I was in high school in the mid 90s, this thing called the Internet just started to become mainstream. Little did we know what the future would hold for the technology and how it would alter culture and human history, but I was absolutely fascinated by it from the start. If I could go back, I would most certainly invest more time to learn coding at a higher level.
My only other advice to my teenage-self would be to sort out my wardrobe. I was absolutely lost through the Grunge-era and I am yet to find a photograph where I looked at least halfway presentable through the 90s.
If you weren’t in your current industry, what would you be doing?
While my day-to-day work ties me to ad tech, in my spare time I have been immersing myself in climate-tech over the last couple of years. In my mind, there is no bigger challenge for humanity in the coming years than our climate crisis.
I firmly believe that technology and innovation, along with dramatic changes to our lifestyles, hold the key to change the current climate trajectory. I am really encouraged by the conversations I am having with several ambitious start-ups in this sector, and I try to do my part through advising, mentoring and investing to help them fulfil their potential.
What’s your one big dream for the future of the industry?
Digital media has fantastic potential to be a force for good. In order to realise this potential, we need to work relentlessly on reducing misinformation and creating a safer and more trusted experience on the internet.
We are facing a constant uphill battle against misinformation - there are titanic shifts happening in our society but still so much to do to address social injustice, and of course, we have a raging military conflict destroying lives on European soil. The work we are doing at IAS is even more important for the industry and for society than ever before.
What are your top tips for professionals and other aspiring leaders?
Whether someone is beginning their journey in advertising, or has been around for many years, I’d encourage them to never stop learning. Exposure to as many parts of the ecosystem as possible is important for anyone starting out.
I was fortunate enough to work first on the publisher side, gain experience with running an ad network, work with the creative side, as well as with marketers within a brand, before finally joining IAS – a cutting-edge ad tech player.
Regardless of the journey, thriving for excellence and superior customer experience is critical. It may sound old-fashioned, but if you want to stand out, focus on the quality of your work.
I always lean on the advice that was given by my Managing Director when I started my career in a small boutique management consulting firm in Hungary. They told me to ask myself one simple question before sending any work to a client: “If you were to show this piece of work to the Queen of England, would you be proud of it?”
It was a fabulous learning experience when starting out in such a client-obsessed environment, and it’s a lesson that has stuck with me and served me well over the last two decades.
When you think about your team, what is the thing that matters to you the most?
I focus on values, attitude and competences over experience and hard skills. I believe that the right mindset coupled with curiosity and determination can overcome most of the gaps in previous experiences. My job as a leader is to create an environment where our employees can thrive, develop and fulfil their potential.
Also, compassion and a strong moral compass have always been at my core, both as a person and a leader. I would recommend a similar strong standing for anyone growing their careers in a similar role.
Assuming positive intent and believing that we are all working together towards a good outcome have served me as beneficial driving forces throughout my career, and still do so today.
Do you have any websites, books or resources you would recommend?
One of the books I read during the pandemic was ‘Humankind’ by Rutger Bregman. It is a very optimistic and uplifting take on human history, essentially arguing that deep down humans are wired to mean well, act with compassion and do fundamentally good things.
