The Trade Desk has appointed Kristi Argyilan as its new chief commercial officer.
Argyilan, an advertising and commerce industry veteran, joins the popular demand-side platform from Uber, where she helmed the advertising business globally. She’s held previous leadership roles at Target, Albertsons, and IPG.
At The Trade Desk, Argyilan will be responsible for driving growth as the company adapts to an ad landscape increasingly shaped by AI. Argyilan steps into a position vacated last summer by Tim Sims, who held the role for under two years.
She will take the post officially later this month and will report directly to the company’s CEO Jeff Green.
Green signaled his support for Argyilan’s appointment in a press release Wednesday, highlighting her “exceptional ability to bring together customers, partners and teams around a shared vision—and then turn that vision into measurable business growth.” He said she’ll focus on helping clients “seize the opportunities created by AI, commerce, and the open internet,” Green added, “while strengthening the ecosystem that makes that innovation possible.”
Argyilan, for her part, believes The Trade Desk is “uniquely positioned to help marketers navigate what’s next,” she said. She expressed support for The Trade Desk’s “commitment to innovation, transparency and the open internet,” and said she’s excited to help clients and partners “unlock new opportunities for growth.”
She will leave Uber after about a year and a half at the ridesharing giant, where she helped to scale the advertising business globally and establish the company as a more serious commerce media player. Josh Butler, general manager and global head of sales at Uber for Business, will take over Argyilan’s responsibilities on an interim basis.
“We are grateful for Kristi’s contributions to growing this business and wish her the best in her next chapter,” an Uber spokesperson told ADWEEK. The spokesperson said that Uber’s ads business “continues to fire on all cylinders,” noting that it’s generated over $2 billion in annualized revenue in a year-over-year spike of more than 50%.
Argyilan’s move arrives in the midst of a wider leadership shakeup at adtech company.
Last month, it brought on Zendesk alum Sarah Gavin to serve as CMO following the departure of longtime marketing leader Ian Colley, and also appointed Nate Olmstead as chief financial officer—the company’s fourth finance chief in the span of roughly a year. Earlier this week, The Trade Desk named former Google and LinkedIn ad exec Penry Price to its board.
Meanwhile, a string of top leaders have exited the company in recent months, including Sims and Colley as well as chief revenue officer Anders Mortensen, chief strategy officer Samantha Jacobson, chief financial officer Alex Kayyal, and three board members.
Now, the company said in today’s press release, The Trade Desk is entering “its next phase of growth.”
“The leaders we’ve welcomed over the past month bring world-class experience, fresh perspectives and an unwavering commitment to our customers,” Green said. “As AI transforms advertising and the open internet enters its next phase of growth, their leadership will help ensure we continue building the products, partnerships and capabilities our clients need to succeed for years to come.”
Argyilan will have her work cut out for her; The Trade Desk has in recent months undergone high-profile scuffles with clients and platform partners, reworked its platform, and seen its financial growth plateau. It was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 in 2025.
Both Argyilan and The Trade Desk declined to comment beyond the press release.