James Avery
Founder and CEO at Kevel
Building Kevel's API-based ad serving infrastructure that enables companies to launch custom ad programs and retail media networks, and for being a prominent advocate for the open web over walled garden ad ecosystems.
Last updated May 30, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team
James Avery is best known as the founder and CEO of Kevel (formerly Adzerk), a company that provides ad serving APIs enabling businesses to build fully custom ad servers, sponsored listings, and retail media networks without relying on walled garden platforms like Google or Amazon. His work has been instrumental in democratizing ad tech infrastructure, giving publishers, retailers, and marketplaces the tools to own and control their own advertising stacks. Kevel's clients have included major retailers and digital publishers seeking to launch or scale first-party ad programs. Avery founded Adzerk in 2010, bootstrapping the company before rebranding it as Kevel in 2020 to better reflect its API-first, infrastructure-focused positioning. Over more than a decade, he has grown the company into a recognized platform in the retail media and custom ad serving space, competing against both legacy ad servers and the expanding ad products of major tech platforms. His entrepreneurial journey is notable for its independence and focus on serving the open web rather than consolidating power within a few dominant ecosystems. Beyond building Kevel, Avery is a prolific writer and speaker on topics including ad blocking, the economics of digital advertising, retail media trends, and the technical architecture of ad serving. He has contributed op-eds and thought leadership pieces to industry publications and has been a vocal critic of practices that undermine the open web. His dual role as operator and industry commentator gives him a distinctive voice in AdTech conversations.
Founder and CEO
Adzerk (now Kevel) (2010-2020)
- Founded Adzerk in 2010 and scaled it into Kevel, a leading API-based ad serving platform powering retail media and custom ad programs
- Rebranded Adzerk to Kevel in 2020, repositioning the company as a retail media and custom ad infrastructure leader
- Bootstrapped and independently grew Kevel without relying on major venture capital rounds, maintaining founder control
- Authored widely-read industry commentary on ad blocking, ad tech infrastructure, and the future of retail media
- Various op-eds and thought leadership articles on ad blocking, retail media, and ad tech infrastructure published on the Kevel blog and industry outlets