Tom Bedecarre
CEO, AKQA

Tom Bedecarré is CEO of AKQA, a global digital marketing firm that uses innovative ideas and technology to deliver results for the world’s leading brands—including Coca-Cola, Audi, Heineken, Nike, Unilever and Xbox. AKQA has more than 1,000 employees in Amsterdam, Berlin, London, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Shanghai and Washington D.C. Recognized numerous times as “Digital Agency of the Year,” AKQA was recently named one of the “World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” by Fast Company magazine. The Wall Street Journal featured Tom as an “Admaker to Watch” in 2006.

An enthusiastic entrepreneur, Tom was a founder and CEO of Citron Haligman Bedecarré, San Francisco’s largest independent advertising agency and a leader in launching Internet brands. Tom started his career in advertising at Ogilvy & Mather New York and later returned home to San Francisco where he was a Vice President at Hal Riney & Partners.

Tom holds a BA degree from Stanford University and an MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University where he has served on the Kellogg Alumni Advisory Board. In 2009, Tom joined the IAB’s Advertising Agency Advisory Board to foster dialogue between agencies, publishers, marketers and technology providers.