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When Boris Mouzykantskii walked into Advertising Age's offices in Midtown Manhattan recently, he was a bit bewildered.
"I still don't know what I'm supposed and not supposed to say," he said. The confusion was understandable considering it was only his second media interview during his 12 years as CEO of Iponweb--the most influential ad-technology company you've never heard of. A changing marketplace, however, is forcing Iponweb to raise its profile.
Iponweb has accomplished much since its founding in 2001, but it's had good reason to keep quiet. The outsourced development shop played a significant role in building dozens of ad-tech companies--Right Media and LiveIntent, to name a few--and its clients usually don't want to advertise that chunks of their technology come from somewhere else.
Until now, the company has depended on word-of-mouth recommendations, creating something of a mythical reputation. It employs 130 workers--105 engineers in Moscow and 25 client-facing employees in cities such as New York, Tokyo and London. Without any venture backing, Iponweb, perhaps unlike some companies it helped build, is profitable by necessity.
"We do like the mystique," said Iponweb Chief Marketing Officer Scott Neville....