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Adam Heimlich

Thought Leader

Adam Heimlich is Co-Founder at Chalice Custom Algorithms, where he champions the principle that advertisers and agencies should own and control their own bidding logic rather than relying on black-box DSP algorithms. Before founding Chalice, he served as Chief Media Officer at Horizon Media and held founder and executive roles across various AdTech ventures spanning the early 2000s through 2017. He is recognized as one of the more technically rigorous and contrarian voices in programmatic advertising.

Last updated Jun 6, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team

Role
Co-Founder & CEO
Company
Chalice Custom Algorithms
Based
New York, New York, United States
Connections
3
Years in industry
22 years

Bio

Adam Heimlich is Co-Founder at Chalice Custom Algorithms, where he champions the principle that advertisers and agencies should own and control their own bidding logic rather than relying on black-box DSP algorithms. Before founding Chalice, he served as Chief Media Officer at Horizon Media and held founder and executive roles across various AdTech ventures spanning the early 2000s through 2017. He is recognized as one of the more technically rigorous and contrarian voices in programmatic advertising.

Career

  • Chief Media Officer

    Horizon Media · circa 2017-2020

  • Founder/Executive

    Various AdTech ventures · early 2000s-2017

Expertise & education

Expertise

Algorithmic Media BuyingProgrammatic AdvertisingBid OptimizationSupply Path OptimizationAttribution ModelingMachine Learning in AdvertisingDemand-Side Platforms (DSPs)Programmatic Transparency

Speaking topics

Custom Algorithms and Bidding OptimizationProgrammatic Transparency and AccountabilitySupply Path OptimizationMachine Learning Applications in Media BuyingAttribution ModelingAdvertiser Empowerment in Programmatic

Recognition

Notable achievements

  • Co-founded Chalice Custom Algorithms, pioneering the concept of agency- and advertiser-owned custom bidding algorithms
  • Served as Chief Media Officer at Horizon Media, one of the largest independent U.S. media agencies
  • Became a leading industry voice on programmatic transparency and algorithmic accountability
  • Advocated for supply path optimization and custom algorithm ownership before these became mainstream industry concerns

Publications

  • Various bylined articles and commentary on programmatic advertising and algorithmic media buying in AdTech trade press
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