Corporate Governance

Prior to being appointed as CEO and Director of the Company, Mr. Hug was Director of Operations from July 2018, where he was instrumental in architecting and executing the Company’s pivot from a traditional agency to an Enterprise Software Technology company, focused on commercializing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in the Digital Marketing and Advertising space.

Hug was previously Chief Executive Officer and Director of SITO Mobile from November 10, 2014 through February 2017, where he architected and executed the successful transformation of the company from a SMS aggregator to an industry leader in Location-Based Mobile Advertising while overseeing a successful NASDAQ National Market Listing. Mr. Hug also served as Director of Corporate Development, Executive Vice President of SITO Mobile Interim CEO, before his promotion to CEO in November 2014. Between 2007 and 2010, Mr. Hug was the co-founder and President of Waveyard Development LLC, a water-sports resort destination development company. From 2003 to June 2006, Mr. Hug served as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Wireless Retail Inc., a $400 million wireless services company that was among the first U.S. businesses to use the store-in-store business model to sell mobile phones for wireless carriers through large nationwide retailers. Mr. Hug was interim CFO for Wireless Retail Inc. leading up to its sale to Radio Shack Corporation. From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Hug was Managing Partner of Redwood Partners, an early-stage merchant bank and advisory firm that focused on providing early-stage capital and executive management to technology, media and telecommunications businesses. Mr. Hug attended The Pennsylvania State University where he studied finance on a full athletic scholarship, and was a member of the 1986 National Championship football team under legendary coach Joe Paterno.

On October 7, 2021, the Board of Directors of AiAdvertising, Inc. (the “Company”) appointed Richard Berliner to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Berliner has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fifth Gen Media, Inc., a marketing and publishing company, owned by Mr. Berliner since 2016. Mr. Berliner’s prior experience was as Chief Executive Officer of a wireless construction company, Redwing Electric from 2012-2015, which was later sold to an investor group. Mr. Berliner did a one year consulting project for the Swedish equipment manufacturer Ericsson, reporting to the Chief Operating Officer in 2011. Mr. Berliner was the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Berliner Communications or BCI (BCI) which he started in 1995, which subsequently merged with another firm in 2010. Mr. Berliner handled the firm’s quarterly earnings calls and the annual meetings in his role as Chairman. Mr. Berliner graduated from Rutgers with a BA in Business in 1975. He is a Fellow in the Radio Club of America and was elected in 2004.

The Company’s Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Berliner is “independent” within the meaning of rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market and is qualified to serve on the Board of Directors because of his extensive senior management experience.

On November 4, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Company appointed Mark Fruehan to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors. Since September 30, 2021, Mr. Fruehan has served as Chief Executive Officer of First Screen of the Americas, which offers digital first brands and content creators alternative distribution and billing mechanisms to monetize content. From July 2020 to June 2021, Mr. Fruehan was Chief Revenue Officer of Tradeswell, the leading AI-driven eCommerce solution, which helps brokers and resellers sell on Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Prior to serving as Chief Revenue Officer at Tradeswell from April 2018 to July 2020, Mr. Fruehan served as President and Chief Revenue Officer at Verve Group, a Media and Games Invest SE portfolio company (Berlin) and a privacy-first omnichannel ad platform offering programmatic solutions that connects advertisers and publishers to people in real time. In October 2016, Mark co-founded Amplify.ai, a global enterprise chatbot platform funded by Costanoa Ventures, which was recently acquired by Triller.net; leading the sales and partner development through their start-up phase until March of 2018. Mr. Fruehan’s roots in the mobile and wireless industry run deep, with leadership roles at Opera Mediaworks & AdMarvel as President, and Head of Business development and innovation at VeriSign and CellStar. Mr. Fruehan has over 30 years of experience in the digital and mobile industry across cost per engagement, mobile content data service, media, monetization, including payments, and messaging. Mr. Fruehan has worked closely with brands, mobile operators, and media companies; in addition to holding several advisory seats and board memberships at early-stage ventures and established tech companies alike. Mr. Fruehan attended Penn State, earning a Bachelor of Science in Economics, and is a proud member of the 1982 NCAA Championship Football Team.

The Company’s Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Fruehan is “independent” within the meaning of the rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market and is qualified to serve on the Board of Directors because of his extensive industry experience within the ad-tech industry, his deep connections with advertisers and publishers, and his senior management experience.

As a trained Engineer and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Kevin is inspired by how technology can be integrated to drive efficiencies, increase transparency, and maximize results. He understands that CMOs are only as good as their last campaign and how difficult it is to prove advertising's true financial impact. This has been a challenge since the dawn of advertising, and he is driven to change that by innovating a product that connects the dots between marketing investments and sales revenue.

Kevin’s believes in the power of “Marketer + Machine”. The world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) allows us to do things that were previously incomprehensible or impossible and enables businesses to measure the performance of every marketing investment. It is time to use this technology to revolutionize the advertising industry and thus the Campaign Performance Platform was born.

Today, he proudly spends his time as a “Marketing Engineer” serving as a Board Member and Chief Product & Marketing Officer for AiAdvertising. It’s his insatiable curiosity and innovation that has driven Kevin’s successes, from notable positions at companies such as Cold Stone Creamery, Donatos Pizzeria, Sage Software (Act! & SalesLogix CRM), IBM Sterling Solutions, American Hospital Supply/Baxter Healthcare (Cardinal), and Frito-Lay.

On October 26, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Company appointed Virginia “Rose” O’Meara to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors. Mrs. O’Meara has been Chief Revenue Officer at GroundTruth, a location-based marketing and advertising technology company, since October 2020. Mrs. O’Meara was Senior Vice President of GroundTruth’s Platform Self-Serve business from October 2019 to September 2020. Mrs. O’Meara was Vice President of Customer Success at a4Media, the media division of Altice USA, from September 2018 to September 2019. Mrs. O’Meara was Chief Executive Officer of Zapp360 beginning in January of 2018 and led its acquisition by Altice USA in September of the same year. Prior to serving as Chief Executive Officer at Zapp360, Mrs. O’Meara also served as Chief Operating Officer from August 2017 to January 2018, Vice President of Customer Success from April 2016 to July 2017, and Director of Business Development from August 2013 to March 2016. Mrs. O’Meara held sales roles as a Director of Mobile Ad Sales at Verve Mobile from July 2012 to August 2013 and as a Digital Account Executive at ITN Digital from January 2010 to July 2012, selling digital and mobile advertising solutions to holding company agencies and brand direct clients on the East Coast in both roles.

The Company’s Board of Directors has determined that Mrs. O’Meara is “independent” within the meaning of the rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market and is qualified to serve on the Board of Directors because of her extensive industry experience within the ad-tech industry, her deep connections with advertisers and publishers, and her senior management experience.