Meet the team

Ade Clayton

CEO

Ade’s AdTech career is built on a foundation of operational execution and planning, formed whilst serving as an Infantry Officer commanding British soldiers on Combat Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He served briefly as an operational planner in Her Majesty’s Government, focussing primarily on Africa and the Mediterranean migration crisis, before switching to an AdTech career for some excitement.

Ade was the Chief Operating Officer of Triple13 before spending 3 great years at Freestar as the Chief of Staff. As the CEO  he is committed to simplifying complex problems and harnessing the horsepower of the great Team at Teal.

Matt Whaley

Founder & Chief Strategy Officer

Matt Whaley is a seasoned AdTech professional with over 23 years of experience in sales, business development, and strategic partnerships. He has a proven track record of driving revenue growth, fostering strong client relationships, and building successful ventures. An entrepreneur at heart, Matt founded Triple 13, which was successfully acquired by Freestar. Matt founded Teal to address a gap in the market for timely and specific AdTech expertise.

Matt is an active member of Prebid, having recently served as a board member, where he contributes to shaping open-source technology standards in the industry. He is passionate about mentoring emerging talent and is recognised for his ability to help companies solve complex challenges and drive success in the AdTech landscape.

Olly Burns

Chief Technology Officer

Oliver is an experienced professional in the technology sector, with a strong background in software development and project management. He has held key roles across various organisations, demonstrating a proven ability to lead teams and successfully deliver complex projects.

Oliver's expertise spans multiple programming languages and development frameworks, highlighting his adaptability and technical proficiency. With a degree in Computer Science, he has a solid foundation that underpins his professional work. Throughout his career, Oliver has shown a consistent commitment to innovation and excellence, contributing significantly to the success of the projects and teams he has been part of.

Eve Hughes

Chief Marketing Officer

Eve Hughes is a strategic B2B marketing leader with over 15 years of experience in global and regional roles across AdTech, digital marketing agencies. She specialises in growth strategies, marketing transformations, leading go-to-market initiatives, and impactful campaigns that drive outcomes.

Eve has held senior roles in companies like Freestar, MiQ, and NetBooster Group. Eve has worked as a marketing consultant for multiple businesses and also serves as co-chair of the Prebid Marketing Taskforce, further contributing to industry initiatives and collaboration. She is passionate about mentoring talent and ensuring marketing drives broader business success.

Tom Yeomans

Commercial Director

Tom is a sales leader with 20 years of AdTech experience. He founded and exited two AdTech companies, including Yavli, the first ad blocker traffic monetisation company, and led its direct media sales strategy to acquisition.

Tom has extensive contacts across demand and supply, scaling companies globally and building relationships with major players like Cloudflare, WordPress, JWT, GroupM, Magna Global, and Ziff Davis. He excels in selling complex solutions and closing deals with technology partners, publishers, and agencies. Tom also co-founded the IAB Tech Lab on Ad Blocking, contributing to industry standards and innovation in digital advertising.

Jo Whaley

Founder & Business Operations Director

With 15 years of experience in AdTech, Jo has played a key role in setting up, growing, and successfully exiting businesses alongside Matt Whaley. She has skilfully managed day-to-day operations, finance, HR, and any challenges that have come her way. Acting as Director, COO, and CAO in various ventures has given Jo invaluable insight into what it takes to operationally drive a business to success.

As part of Teal's Exec team, Jo leads on Teal's business operations including Finance, Contracts and HR.

Eneida Mazreku Abazi

Account Manager

Eneida brings 3 years of experience in HR tech, having worked with leading platforms like HiBob and Lattice to help organisations optimise people operations through innovative solutions.

Now at Teal, she applies her expertise to bridge the gap between technology and user success, helping professionals navigate and grow their careers effectively. Her ability to identify client needs, streamline processes, and deliver measurable outcomes positions her to make a strong impact in the ad tech industry. Eneida’s passion for driving adoption and ensuring value translates into stronger client relationships and impactful career results.

Vineeta Sajnani

Product Lead

Vineeta has extensive experience in optimising demand and maximising publisher revenue across programmatic channels. She is known for her data wizardry, attention to detail, and exceptional problem-solving skills. Over her career, she has held multiple roles at leading companies like Freestar and InMobi, gaining deep expertise in ad operations, analytics, product development, demand management, and partnership management.

Passionate about the evolving AdTech landscape, Vineeta excels at driving innovation, empowering publishers to achieve sustainable growth, and unlocking new opportunities in this dynamic industry.

Toby Harwood

Partnership Director - Teal Ambassador

Toby Harwood has 20+ years' of expertise in publisher development, AdTech, and data within the digital media industry. Throughout his career, he has excelled in leadership roles, including Head of Publisher Development at eType, Accelerator Media, Orange Ad Network, and Adjug. In these positions, Toby spearheaded publisher acquisition and account management efforts across the US and EMEA, cultivating and managing strategic relationships across diverse markets. Toby has also held senior roles at New Frontier Data and Target Visibility, where he focused on driving strategic partnerships and business development. Toby is also the co-founder of JobsInAdtech.com.

James McGowan

Partnership Director

For 20 years James has worked across the creative side of commercial teams at trade press, events, content studios, PR and publishing with a focus on digital media & marketing. His experience, built around looking at things from a different perspective, has allowed him to help develop new platforms and opportunities for both his current businesses and partners as well as well as founding industry leading events such as the Programmatic Lunch and Trinity Lunch series.

His time at The Drum, Masterclassing, Mobile Marketing Magazine, New Digital Age and Bluestripe Group have given him a unique view of the industry as well as the knowledge & experience to advise on a broad range of ways to monetise businesses.

Ellis Whaley

Junior Technical Operations Executive

After completing A-Levels in Maths, Chemistry, and Biology, Ellis chose to take a hands-on path into the working world rather than pursue university. He kickstarted his journey into tech by training at Le Wagon, where he completed an intensive computer programming bootcamp. This provided a strong foundation in backend development and sparked interest in the inner workings of the AdTech ecosystem.

Ellis is now learning the ropes from industry experts, including his mentor (and dad!), Matt Whaley.