Observed Signal · Feb 5, 2026 · Hiring · Source: ExchangeWire · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Eyal Betzalel Named COO at Overwolf Ads
Overwolf Ads has appointed veteran ad-tech entrepreneur Eyal Betzalel as chief operating officer to lead the company’s media and programmatic expansion. Betzalel — co-founder and former co-CEO of Primis — will scale Overwolf Ads beyond its closed in-game ecosystem and lead the launch of Scalibur, a new programmatic product slated for Q1 2026 designed to reach gamers across the open web. Overwolf Ads reports a reach of more than 113 million monthly gamers and doubled in‑game ad sales to USD $100m in 2024. The Scalibur pilot across 10 major desktop apps reportedly delivered an average 20% performance uplift within two months. Overwolf positions the move as a way to preserve brand safety and performance while increasing scale and creator payouts, and highlights integrations with partners such as The Trade Desk and Adelaide.
Appointment of an experienced ad‑tech executive and the planned Scalibur programmatic product could expand gaming inventory into the open web, increase advertiser access to gaming audiences and boost creator revenue, but the development is incremental rather than industry‑shaping.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Eyal Betzalel has joined Overwolf Ads as chief operating officer.
- Overwolf Ads reaches over 113 million monthly gamers.
- Overwolf Ads doubled in‑game ad sales to USD $100m in 2024.
- Overwolf plans to launch Scalibur, a programmatic product, in Q1 2026; its pilot delivered an average 20% performance uplift across 10 desktop apps.
- Betzalel previously co‑founded Primis and led its growth to acquisition by IPG.
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Former Utiq and Xandr/Microsoft Leader Joins illuma for AI Scaling
illuma, a London-based AI company specializing in contextual decision intelligence, has appointed Michel Guillon as head of solutions architecture. Guillon brings two decades of adtech leadership experience from Utiq and AppNexus/Xandr/Microsoft, where he worked closely with illuma's integrations. His role will help partners integrate illuma's contextual intelligence into their systems at enterprise scale, leveraging his deep knowledge of DSP and SSP architecture and data interoperability. illuma's AI technology is used by brands, agencies, publishers, and platforms to optimize advertising decisions in real time, and is available through major platforms including The Trade Desk, Equativ, Index Exchange, Amazon, DV360, Yahoo, OpenX, PubMatic, and Magnite. The appointment underscores illuma's expansion across leading advertising platforms.
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