VP of Advertising Sales at Netflix
Building Netflix's advertising sales organization from the ground up as the platform entered the ad-supported streaming market, leveraging prior experience at Amazon and Spotify to attract major brand advertisers to CTV.
Last updated Mar 28, 2026 by AI Enrichment
David Lawenda is one of the most prominent figures in connected television advertising, serving as Netflix's VP of Advertising Sales at a pivotal moment in streaming history. He joined Netflix as the company launched its ad-supported tier, tasked with building out the commercial infrastructure and advertiser relationships needed to compete in a rapidly evolving CTV landscape. His appointment signaled Netflix's seriousness about becoming a major player in the premium video advertising market. Lawenda brings a distinguished track record from senior roles at Amazon and Spotify, where he developed deep expertise in programmatic advertising, data-driven targeting, and digital audio and video monetization. At Amazon, he was involved in scaling advertising products that leveraged the company's first-party retail data, giving him a strong foundation in identity-based targeting and performance advertising. At Spotify, he helped grow the platform's advertising business, navigating the intersection of streaming media and brand advertising. His career trajectory reflects the broader convergence of digital, programmatic, and premium video advertising that defines modern AdTech. Lawenda is widely regarded as a dealmaker and operator who understands both the technical underpinnings of programmatic ecosystems and the relationship-driven nature of large-scale media buying, making him a key architect of Netflix's advertising ambitions.
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Spotify