David Steinberg

Co-Founder and CEO at Zeta Global

Building Zeta Global into a major publicly traded marketing cloud powered by proprietary identity data and AI, and for being a serial entrepreneur who has repeatedly scaled data-driven marketing businesses from startup to public markets.

OperatorNew York, New York, United States27+ years in industry

Last updated May 30, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team

Bio

David Steinberg is best known as the Co-Founder and CEO of Zeta Global, a publicly traded marketing technology company he has built into one of the largest independent marketing clouds competing directly with Adobe, Salesforce, and Oracle. Under his leadership, Zeta went public on the NYSE in June 2021 and has grown to serve hundreds of Fortune 1000 brands with AI-powered identity resolution, customer intelligence, and omnichannel marketing solutions. Steinberg has been a central figure in advancing the use of machine learning and proprietary first-party data as the advertising industry navigates the deprecation of third-party cookies and evolving privacy regulations. Before Zeta, Steinberg demonstrated a consistent pattern of building large-scale digital businesses from the ground up. He founded InPhonic in 1997, which grew into one of the largest online retailers of wireless phones and services and went public on NASDAQ in 2004. He subsequently founded XL Marketing, a direct marketing and data company that was later acquired and became the foundation for what would evolve into Zeta Global. His entrepreneurial track record spans nearly three decades of building companies at the intersection of data, technology, and marketing. Steinberg is widely regarded as a thought leader on the future of marketing technology, identity resolution, and AI-driven personalization. He is a frequent speaker at major industry conferences and a vocal advocate for the role of first-party data and artificial intelligence in replacing legacy targeting infrastructure. His ability to raise capital, execute acquisitions, and scale enterprise software businesses has made him one of the most prominent operator-entrepreneurs in the AdTech and MarTech landscape.

Previous Roles

Founder and CEO

XL Marketing (2009-2014)

Founder and CEO

InPhonic / Simplexity (1997-2008)

Expertise

Marketing Technology (MarTech)Identity ResolutionAI-Powered Customer IntelligenceFirst-Party Data StrategyOmnichannel MarketingCustomer AcquisitionData-Driven AdvertisingProgrammatic Marketing

Education

Attended University of Miami

Notable Achievements

Led Zeta Global's IPO on the NYSE in June 2021, raising approximately $400 million
Built InPhonic into one of the largest online wireless retailers and took it public on NASDAQ in 2004
Grew Zeta Global's data cloud to over 235 million opted-in consumer profiles
Scaled Zeta Global to serve hundreds of Fortune 1000 clients across financial services, insurance, retail, and media verticals

Awards

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the YearFrequently named to lists of top MarTech and AdTech executives by trade publications

Speaking Topics

The future of identity resolution in a cookieless worldAI and machine learning in marketing technologyBuilding and scaling data-driven marketing cloudsFirst-party data strategy for enterprise brandsThe convergence of AdTech and MarTech

Publications

Co-author of 'Enchant: Master the Seven Elements of Utterly Irresistible Marketing' (with John Hayes)

Board Memberships

Zeta Global (NYSE: ZETA)

Connections