Key Takeaways

  • Global digital advertising company The Trade Desk announced in a press release and securities filing on Monday,the appointment of Nate Olmstead as Chief Financial Officer, effective July 9. The appointment concludes the search for a permanent finance chief that began after former CFO Alexander Kayyal was abruptly dismissed in January, as CFO Dive previously reported.
  • Olmstead, a former Hewlett Packard Enterprise executive, will take over financial leadership from interim CFO Tahnil Davis. Davis has served in the interim role since Kayyal left The Trade Desk after five months on the job. With Olmstead's appointment, Davis will continue as the company's Chief Accounting Officer, a position she held before taking on the interim CFO role.
  • "I am deeply grateful for Tahnil's continued dedication to The Trade Desk," CEO Jeff Green said in a statement. "She has been a trusted steward of our finances for over a decade, and I look forward to her continued role as Chief Accounting Officer and as an advisor to both Nate and me."

Dive Insight

Olmstead, 54, joins The Trade Desk after serving as CFO of Penguin Solutions, an AI memory and infrastructure provider, for two years. Prior to that, he spent three years as CFO of technology company Logitech and 16 years at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where he held roles including Vice President of Finance for Global Operations, according to his LinkedIn profile.

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Olmstead will receive an annual base salary of $600,000, an initial target annual bonus of $600,000, and a signing bonus of $600,000 upon assuming the CFO role. He will also receive a time-based restricted stock unit grant and a stock option with a total target equity value of $10 million.

The CFO appointment is the latest executive leadership change at the global advertising company following Kayyal's abrupt dismissal. In March, Kayyal also announced he would step down from the company's board, and The Trade Desk simultaneously announced the appointment of Reddit CFO Andrew Vollero to its audit committee, as CFO Dive reported.

In another leadership change, The Trade Desk's Chief Strategy Officer Samantha Jacobson announced on May 7 her intention to resign from that role, though she will remain on the company's board, according to an SEC filing.

With Olmstead assuming the CFO role, he will focus on driving the company's "continued acceleration of growth and scaling," according to Tuesday's press release.

In the first quarter of 2026,The Trade Desk reportedrevenue grew 12% year-over-year to $689 million, which Green said in the statement was one of the positive impacts of the company's strategic upgrades. This includes new partner announcements and integrations, such as the first partner for its agentic AI, Koa Agents, Stagwell, according to its May 7 earnings report.

Meanwhile, The Trade Desk reported net income fell to approximately $40 million, compared with approximately $51 million in the same period last year.

Company executives said on the earnings call that the business continues to focus on growth as advertisers and publishers navigate AI's impact on the media landscape.

"Early 2026 brought unique challenges, including geopolitical uncertainty that our clients are currently navigating," Davis said on the call, according to a transcript. The company remains focused on the "long term" amid ongoing uncertainty, targeting a $1 trillion addressable market, she said.