Jana Meron — Founder & Strategic Advisor at Lioness Strategies

Jana Meron, a veteran publisher monetization executive, has founded Lioness Strategies, a consultancy focused on helping publishers navigate the rapidly evolving digital media landscape. Meron brings extensive experience from senior roles at major publishers, most notably as VP of Programmatic and Data Strategy at NBC News Digital, where she was instrumental in building out programmatic revenue infrastructure and data-driven monetization strategies. Her move to found an independent advisory firm reflects a broader trend of seasoned AdTech operators transitioning into consultancy roles to serve publishers struggling with monetization complexity. Lioness Strategies is positioned as a strategic advisory practice aimed at empowering publishers to adapt and thrive amid ongoing disruptions including the deprecation of third-party cookies, the rise of first-party data strategies, the proliferation of privacy regulations, and the shifting dynamics of programmatic advertising. Meron's dual role as Founder and Strategic Advisor signals that the firm is structured to provide both high-level strategic guidance and hands-on advisory support to media companies and publishers of varying sizes. This development is significant in the AdTech ecosystem as it adds a credible, publisher-side voice to the growing consultancy market. Publishers continue to face mounting pressure from walled gardens, identity fragmentation, and revenue diversification challenges, creating strong demand for experienced advisors who have operated within large-scale publisher environments and understand the technical and commercial nuances of modern programmatic monetization.

The founding of Lioness Strategies reflects a meaningful trend in the AdTech industry where experienced publisher-side operators are moving into advisory roles to fill a growing knowledge gap. As publishers face existential challenges — including Google's Privacy Sandbox evolution, signal loss from cookie deprecation, and increasing competition from retail media networks — the demand for specialized consultants with real-world publisher monetization experience is rising sharply. Meron's background in programmatic and data strategy at a major broadcaster gives her credibility that generic management consultancies typically lack in this space. Her firm is likely to compete with or complement other boutique AdTech advisory practices and could influence how mid-to-large publishers structure their data and monetization strategies. The move also underscores the broader market signal that publisher-side talent is increasingly valuable outside of traditional employment structures, and that the complexity of the AdTech stack now warrants dedicated strategic advisory services rather than reliance solely on vendor-provided guidance.