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Brian Mun
Head of Programmatic Partnerships @ Baidu - ex-Microsoft/AppNexus
Professional Background
Brian Mun is an accomplished advertising strategist who has dedicated over 11 years to developing innovative revenue growth strategies for some of the most recognized Fortune 500 companies as well as the ten largest publishers in the world. He has established himself as a leader in the advertising technology space, emphasizing the importance of product innovation and emerging technologies. Throughout his impressive career, Brian has played a pivotal role in the introduction of new products to market before they gained significant industry traction. Notable achievements include pioneering In-App Header-Bidding with the initiative PriceCheck (renamed to Prebid Mobile), advancing Supply Path Optimization, developing Native Content Feeds in collaboration with Tango, and creating engaging Playable Ads using Voxel.
Brian is not only passionate about the intersection of technology and advertising, but he also possesses an excellent understanding of the intricate dynamics of mobile and desktop advertising optimization. His expertise encompasses a wide range of metrics and models including LTV (Lifetime Value), CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions), CPC (Cost Per Click), CPA (Cost Per Acquisition), CPV (Cost Per View), and ROAS (Return on Advertising Spend). Furthermore, he has successfully built a self-serve platform from the ground up which has surpassed a remarkable $120 million in revenue, highlighting his ability to integrate strategic vision with effective execution.
His international career has taken him to some of the most vibrant advertising hubs around the world, including San Francisco, London, New York City, and Shenzhen. This breadth of experience has enriched his understanding of diverse markets and audiences, allowing him to adapt strategies that resonate globally while accounting for regional sensitivities.
Education and Achievements
Brian Mun boasts a solid academic background that has equipped him with the analytical and economic skills necessary to succeed in the fast-paced world of advertising technology. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the prestigious University of California, Berkeley, where he developed a strong foundation in economic theory and its application to business practices.
Additionally, Brian expanded his academic credentials by studying at the Faculty of Business and Economics at The University of Hong Kong. This unique combination of education has provided him with a multifaceted perspective on business strategies, particularly in relation to the evolving digital economy.
Career Milestones and Contributions
Throughout his career, Brian has held significant positions at leading technology companies, contributing to their growth and expanding their market presence. As the Head of Programmatic Partnerships at Baidu USA, Brian led initiatives that were critical to establishing Baidu's footprint in the competitive U.S. advertising landscape. Prior to this, he excelled as a Senior Manager of Business Development at Baidu, where he was instrumental in forging new partnerships that enhanced the company's market offerings.
Brian's tenure at Microsoft also highlights several key roles, including Marketplace Lead and Partnerships Lead in the Mobile division. His strategic insights and leadership in these positions played a vital role in driving key projects forward and optimizing partnerships to enhance both user engagement and revenue generation.
Additionally, he is the founder of Arbitrage SEO, where his entrepreneurial spirit is evident in his ability to identify market needs and create solutions that drive results. At InMobi, Brian served in numerous capacities, including Senior Business Development Manager and Senior Partner Manager, where he laid the groundwork for successful collaborations and enhanced operational efficiency.
His early career experiences include account management at Horn Group and an analyst role at NetApp, where he honed his analytical skills and acquired a deep understanding of market trends and data-driven decision-making.
Brian's commitment to community service is reflected in his role as a Volunteer Income Tax Assistant with the Internal Revenue Service, where he contributed his expertise to assist individuals in navigating their tax obligations.
Achievements
Brian Mun's career is marked by numerous achievements that underscore his impact on the advertising industry. He has successfully brought innovative ad-tech solutions to market, establishing himself as a thought leader and visionary in the space. His contributions have not only driven revenue for his companies but have also shaped the way advertising technologies evolve.
His remarkable ability to foresee industry shifts and adopt new technologies has been key to crafting strategies that align with market demand, ensuring that the companies he works with remain competitive and relevant. His work on self-serve platforms exemplifies his dedication to
Highlights
Heading back to Cannes this year, though it will be a condensed trip this time. Reflecting on the last year since Cannes, which set the stage for one of the most monumental years in my life - not only with the deals that came out of Cannes - but also the life decisions I made, including my move to China. Hoping to celebrate the wins of the last year with good people.
#cannes
Humility - that was the running theme of the Microsoft Accelerate Summit for me, hosted by Microsoft Advertising.
I was invited to represent Baidu and learn from much more accomplished leaders - I admit, I was out of my element at first, but the kindness of each person I met quickly erased that notion. I thank Kya Sainsbury-Carter and Rukmini Iyer for setting a different kind of tone - a very humanistic approach to why we are at this conference. We covered the future of AI, Ads and Copilot - yes, it’s a watershed moment - but what surprised me is how Kya ended the conference - not with a (hope we can do more business together!) that is typical of conferences but rather a heartfelt message that she too is a human, like the rest of us, and that our greatest value may just be to empower others to be better. I can tell Satya has created an impressive culture in the past few years - success doesn't always need to come with ego.
With that, I would like to thank the Microsoft Accelerate team for hosting one of my favorite events of all time.
Thank you Jason, Lynne and Sze for your continued supoort; Dave, Bonin and Div for being so personable; Rukmini for staying overtime to chat; Amy and Amanda for the smiles; Danny and Patrick for reconnecting after being legends in my world for so many years.
#Baidu #AI #Copilot #MSAAccelerate #Microsoft #MicrosoftAdvertising
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Mesh is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Mesh centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Mesh's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.