Kurt Donnell
Kurt Donnell is the CEO of Freestar, a leading publisher monetization and header bidding platform that serves thousands of digital publishers by optimizing their programmatic advertising revenue. Under his leadership, Freestar has grown into one of the most prominent managed ad solutions providers in the industry, helping publishers maximize yield through advanced header bidding technology, demand partnerships, and data-driven optimization. Donnell has been instrumental in scaling Freestar's operations and expanding its publisher base, positioning the company as a significant player in the programmatic ecosystem. His focus has been on building technology and partnerships that give independent and mid-to-large publishers access to enterprise-level monetization capabilities that would otherwise be difficult to assemble independently. He is recognized in the AdTech community as an operator deeply focused on the publisher side of the programmatic supply chain, advocating for transparency and better revenue outcomes for content creators in an increasingly complex digital advertising landscape.
Last updated Oct 27, 2026 by ATDb automated enrichment
AI-drafted from public sources1 source cited
- Years in industry
- 10 years
Bio
Kurt Donnell is the CEO of Freestar, a leading publisher monetization and header bidding platform that serves thousands of digital publishers by optimizing their programmatic advertising revenue. Under his leadership, Freestar has grown into one of the most prominent managed ad solutions providers in the industry, helping publishers maximize yield through advanced header bidding technology, demand partnerships, and data-driven optimization. Donnell has been instrumental in scaling Freestar's operations and expanding its publisher base, positioning the company as a significant player in the programmatic ecosystem. His focus has been on building technology and partnerships that give independent and mid-to-large publishers access to enterprise-level monetization capabilities that would otherwise be difficult to assemble independently. He is recognized in the AdTech community as an operator deeply focused on the publisher side of the programmatic supply chain, advocating for transparency and better revenue outcomes for content creators in an increasingly complex digital advertising landscape.
Expertise & education
Expertise
Speaking topics
Recognition
Notable achievements
- Scaled Freestar into one of the largest independent publisher monetization platforms in the United States
- Expanded Freestar's publisher network to thousands of digital media partners