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Charlie Cadbury

CEO and Co-Founder at Say It Now

Co-founding Improve Digital, a premier European SSP acquired by Azerion, and championing publisher-centric monetization strategies across the programmatic ecosystem.

OperatorLondon, United Kingdom15+ years in industry

Last updated May 30, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team

Bio

Charlie Cadbury is best known as a co-founder of Improve Digital, one of Europe's leading supply-side platforms built specifically to serve premium publishers. Under his leadership, Improve Digital became a cornerstone of the European programmatic ecosystem, offering publishers sophisticated tools for yield management, header bidding, and programmatic deal-making before being acquired by Azerion, a major European digital entertainment and media company. This exit cemented his reputation as one of the continent's most consequential AdTech entrepreneurs. Before co-founding Improve Digital, Cadbury served as Head of Yield at The Guardian, where he developed deep expertise in publisher-side revenue optimization and programmatic strategy at one of the UK's most prominent media brands. This hands-on experience with a premium publisher informed the publisher-first philosophy that would define Improve Digital's product approach and differentiate it in a market often skewed toward buy-side interests. Today, Cadbury serves as CEO and Co-Founder of Say It Now, continuing his focus on innovative publisher and advertiser solutions in a rapidly evolving digital advertising landscape. He is widely regarded as a thought leader on topics including SSP technology, header bidding, yield optimization, and the sustainability of premium publishing in the programmatic era, and is a regular presence at major AdTech industry events across Europe.

Previous Roles

Co-Founder

Improve Digital (~2008-2021)

Head of Yield

The Guardian

Expertise
Supply-Side Platforms (SSP)Header BiddingYield OptimizationProgrammatic AdvertisingPublisher MonetizationProgrammatic Deal-MakingAdTech EntrepreneurshipDigital Media Strategy
Notable Achievements
  • Co-founded Improve Digital, one of Europe's leading SSPs serving premium publishers, which was acquired by Azerion
  • Built and scaled publisher monetization infrastructure used by major European media brands
  • Led yield strategy at The Guardian, one of the UK's most prominent digital publishers
Speaking Topics
Publisher monetization strategies in the programmatic eraThe future of supply-side platformsHeader bidding and yield optimizationBalancing user experience with advertising revenueEuropean AdTech ecosystem trends