EPISODE 02: Oliver Klander (LiveRamp)

Oliver Klander, Regional VP for LiveRamp across MENA, joins Built for MENA — the podcast on what it actually takes to build, sell and scale AdTech and MarTech in the Middle East. Oliver's core argument: this region doesn't just move fast, it refuses to come second — and that changes everything about how you win here. He unpacks why being on the ground beats a great product with a great reputation: the biggest mistake outsiders make is assuming the tech travels on its own, when success is built on real relationships across the whole ecosystem — publishers, platforms, brands, retailers. It's also, he says, the one market where the door is genuinely open: CEO or planner, everyone's in the room and everyone wants to connect, with none of the gatekeeping you hit in more established regions. We dig into the Middle East's quiet superpower — first-party data "in bucket loads" from the loyalty schemes of the big conglomerates — and why the real prize isn't the data itself but connecting it for addressable reach. Oliver makes the case that value alignment is non-negotiable here (this region won't be sold something that doesn't translate into what was promised), flags retail media as the most misunderstood trend — onsite vs offsite, and where it truly sits in the P&L — and looks ahead to a "stratospheric" twelve months as Disney, Netflix, Paramount and Amazon scale into the region. With MENA's ad spend already outgrowing every other market, his read on the recent turbulence is characteristically bullish: the Middle East always comes back stronger. Quick-fire: • MENA advertising in one word? Exciting • The most overrated buzzword in AdTech right now? Retail media • The most underrated opportunity in MENA AdTech? Retail media • Relationships or technology, what matters more here? Relationships • One skill AdTech professionals in MENA must develop next? Humility and understanding Listen at builtformena.com. Every guest answers the same seven questions, so you can compare how the region's operators really think.