Prodege appointed Todd Parsons as chief executive officer, effective October 1, 2026. The move puts a veteran product and advertising technology executive at the helm of the consumer marketing and insights platform as it works to connect its loyalty and data assets with the ways AI is reshaping digital commerce and advertising.
Parsons joins from Criteo, where he served as chief product officer and president of Performance Media. He oversaw global product strategy and the company's Performance Media business, including work on conversational AI advertising and a partnership that brought Criteo's advertising capabilities to ChatGPT.
Product leadership across advertising infrastructure
Parsons brings more than two decades of experience across consumer behavior, commerce, advertising, data and technology. Before Criteo, he held product leadership roles at SocialCode and OpenX, led product for Acxiom's Marketing Services business, and founded two venture-backed companies, BuzzLogic and Aditive. His career has focused on the infrastructure connecting consumer identity, data, advertising and commerce.
"Todd has built his career by understanding how major technology shifts reshape the relationship among consumers, brands, and platforms, and by translating those shifts into products and businesses that deliver measurable value," said Prodege Board Chairman Chris Ney.
Consumer communities meet AI-driven channels
Prodege operates loyalty programs with relationships reaching more than 125 million people. The company uses those consumer connections to support market research and performance marketing campaigns, giving brands access to customer feedback while members earn rewards for activities like surveys and offers.
Parsons pointed to that existing consumer base as a significant factor in his decision. "As AI shapes more of our choices, I believe people should have a more direct role in shaping those experiences and share in the value they create," Parsons said. "We have strong assets to build around."
The operational challenge is connecting Prodege's established communities and loyalty infrastructure with the changing ways brands collect insights, reach audiences and measure marketing performance. That includes determining how first-party consumer relationships can support advertising and research workflows as AI becomes more deeply integrated into digital discovery.
Self-service and data-driven advertising at scale
Parsons' tenure at Criteo included expanding capabilities around commerce, first-party data, self-service products and artificial intelligence. Those capabilities matter for marketing platforms that need to automate campaign execution while maintaining access to consumer signals and measurable outcomes.
As CEO, Parsons will be responsible for translating Prodege's assets into its next phase of product and commercial development. The emphasis will be on using consumer understanding to improve existing businesses while developing new ways for brands and consumers to interact through emerging AI-driven channels, where AI-powered interfaces are creating new entry points among consumers, advertisers and commerce platforms.
Why this matters for executives and strategy
This appointment signals how loyalty and consumer insights platforms are positioning themselves for a market where AI intermediaries increasingly sit between brands and their customers. For executives evaluating their own data and customer relationship assets, the question is whether first-party consumer connections can become a competitive advantage as AI reshapes discovery and commerce. For CEOs navigating similar strategic shifts, the AI Learning Path for CEOs provides a structured way to build the fluency needed to make these calls. The broader trend cuts across sectors - follow developments in AI for Executives & Strategy as leadership appointments increasingly reflect bets on AI-driven business models.
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