Yuval Ben-Itzhak
CEO at Emplifi (formerly Socialbakers)
Leading Socialbakers' transformation into Emplifi and championing AI-powered social media analytics and measurement as essential tools for modern brand advertising strategies.
Last updated May 31, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team
Yuval Ben-Itzhak is a seasoned technology executive best known for leading Socialbakers through its evolution into Emplifi, a comprehensive customer experience and social media marketing platform. Under his leadership, the company expanded its AI-driven analytics capabilities and broadened its product suite to serve global enterprise brands seeking to measure and optimize their social media advertising investments. He is widely recognized in the AdTech community for his vocal advocacy around data-driven marketing, social media measurement, and the responsible use of AI in advertising. Ben-Itzhak brings a distinctive cross-disciplinary background to AdTech, having previously held senior roles in cybersecurity before transitioning into marketing technology. He served as CTO at AVG Technologies and held executive positions at Finjan, giving him a unique perspective on data integrity, privacy, and security — themes increasingly relevant to the advertising ecosystem. His technical depth combined with commercial leadership has made him a credible voice on topics ranging from brand safety to social commerce. As a frequent speaker at industry conferences and contributor to marketing and technology media, Ben-Itzhak has helped position Emplifi as a thought leader in social media intelligence. He has guided the company through significant milestones including its rebranding from Socialbakers to Emplifi following a merger with Astute and Pixlee, reflecting a broader vision for unified customer engagement platforms in the post-cookie advertising landscape.
CEO
Socialbakers (2017-2021)
CTO
AVG Technologies (2012-2016)
VP Engineering & CTO
Finjan (2006-2012)
- Computer Science, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
- Led Socialbakers' rebranding and merger into Emplifi, combining social media analytics with customer experience capabilities
- Scaled Emplifi to serve thousands of global enterprise brands across social media marketing and analytics
- Guided the company through AI integration into social media measurement and content optimization tools
- Previously helped grow AVG Technologies as CTO prior to its acquisition by Avast for $1.3 billion
- Regular contributor to Forbes, Marketing Week, and Adweek on social media trends and AI in marketing