Innovatıon that ships

I form new-generation teams that turn tech and data into new profitable business lines

Can Yildiz
Based
Frankfurt, DE
Education
Executive MBA · Frankfurt School
Track
11+ years AdTech
Currently
Driving force in healthcare market @ WEFRA LIFE
01 — Work

The experience and learningsthat got me here

2024 – presentWEFRA LIFE

Managing Director

Current
Frankfurt, Germany

WEFRA LIFE is the driving force in healthcare market, the leading healthcare communication group in DACH region, delivering performance media solutions to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

  • Took on the Digital Media P&L with a mandate to modernise the service offering, expand internationally, and build the organisation behind it.

    • Defining the 5-year digital media strategy and shaping the portfolio roadmap
    • Launching client-oriented service lines that connect media execution to measurable business outcomes
    • Scaling Healthy Programmatic to international markets and growing the team to sustain it
    • Leading international new-business pitches — consistently converting against others who lack HCP expertise
    • Investing in team development: coaching, career progression, and promoting from within
2023–24Pierian

Advisor to the Board

London, United Kingdom

Pierian champions the transformation of MarTech visions into reality. Passionately solving for the now, next, and future, Pierian acts as a catalyst in digital marketing and commerce. Unfazed by scale, complexity, or silos, Pierian's dedicated team innovates with data and technology. From strategizing and experimenting to building analytics, content, commerce, and complex data platforms, Pierian is committed to elevating the digital journey of businesses worldwide.

2021–24Healthy Programmatic

Programmatic & Data Strategy Director — Board Member

Frankfurt, Germany

A closed, purpose-built programmatic ecosystem for Healthcare Professionals across Europe — structured as a genuine three-way win: pharma clients get verified 1st-party HCP audiences with full targeting interoperability, publishers automate media delivery so their teams stay focused on HCP engagement, and HCPs receive specialty-relevant, fully compliant communications.

  • Built the largest end-to-end HCP advertising ecosystem in Europe — the only closed network that is GDPR-clean, cookieless from day one, and beneficial at every layer of the chain.

    • Clients: verified HCP audiences + 1st-party data interoperability across EU markets
    • Publishers: automated programmatic delivery, zero ad-ops overhead
    • HCPs: specialty-matched, compliant messaging — no general-consumer noise
2019–21dentsu X

Group Head Programmatic Europe

Frankfurt, Germany

dentsu X is dentsu's data-driven integrated media agency, combining human insights and technology to design transformative brand experiences at scale.

  • Functionally led programmatic across nine European markets, running AdTech relationships with global DSP, DMP, CDP and DCO partners.

    • Integrated 4 DSPs, 2 DMPs, 1 CDP for 2 global clients
    • QBR presentations to global leadership with data-driven insights
    • AdTech RFI & vendor reviews on a regional level
    • Cross-channel strategy: display, audio, CTV, ATV, DOOH
    MarketsDEUKFRESITNLBECHAT
  • Recognition

    Won the Bid Factor Award by the TradeDesk for Trading Excellence

    • One of the first cross-channel (Display, Video, CTV, Display) programmatic campaign with identity graph integration
    • Personalised DCO (Dynamic Creative Optimization) implementation across multiple channels
    • Achieved industry recognition for innovative programmatic trading strategies
2018–19Amnet · Dentsu

Head of Programmatic Activation

Budapest, Hungary

Amnet is dentsu's programmatic trading desk, operating across the full DSP, DMP, and data-platform stack to deliver audience-first buying at scale.

  • Leading the Programmatic Unit with outstanding track record of profitability

    • Implemented 2 DMPs; overachieved turnover target by 30%
    • 40% YoY growth with a team of 5
    • Activated 5 DSPs across the team for different KPIs
    • Won a regional pitch for a leading retail e-commerce client
2016–18Amnet · Dentsu

Programmatic Team Leader

Budapest, Hungary

Amnet is dentsu's programmatic trading desk, operating across the full DSP, DMP, and data-platform stack to deliver audience-first buying at scale.

  • First country change for work. Raised a team from scratch and seeded programmatic into the Hungarian market with local publishers.

    • Built the Amnet brand & team from scratch for Hungary
    • Overachieved turnover & profitability by 25% — two years running
    • Programmatic strategy lead for all dentsu clients
    • Team of the Year award — Dentsu
    Key clientsGMIKEAMondelezPeugeot-CitroënMicrosoft
2015–16Amnet · Dentsu Aegis Network

Programmatic Trader

Istanbul, Turkey

Amnet is dentsu's programmatic trading desk, operating across the full DSP, DMP, and data-platform stack to deliver audience-first buying at scale.

  • Bought programmatically across DBM, AppNexus, MediaMath and Adelphic — a market still figuring it out.

    • Multi-platform buying: DBM, AppNexus, MediaMath, Adelphic
    • 1st & 3rd party data strategy via Amnet DMP
    • Pioneering programmatic in an emerging Turkish market
    ClientsCoca-ColaGMMicrosoftadidasLegoDecathlonIntercityPirelliHotpointMattelEczacibasiPinarIs Bank
2015iProspect

Performance Marketing Trainee

Istanbul, Turkey

iProspect is dentsu's performance marketing agency, specialising in search, paid media, and data-driven strategies that connect brands to audiences.

  • Eight weeks. Probably asked too many questions and annoyed people - they thought the best way to handle my energy was to hire me full-time after that.

01
2020–22

Executive MBA

Frankfurt School of Finance & Management
Frankfurt, Germany

GPA 3.70 / 4.00 (Germany 1.4)

02
2011–12

Erasmus exchange

Hogeschool Rotterdam
Rotterdam, Netherlands
03
2009–14

BS, International Business · Summa Cum Laude

Beykent University
Istanbul, Turkey

GPA 3.94 / 4.00

  • 2019Strategic Leadership & Management· University of Illinois· Urbana-Champaign, United States
  • 2015–16Squared Online — Digital Marketing Leadership· Full scholarship· Remote, United Kingdom
Principles

Five rules I run teams by.

  1. Numbers, not adjectives. Defend the P&L.

  2. Write the kill-criteria before the launch plan.

  3. Fail Forward: ship small, fail fast, move forward.

  4. Speed over certainty. Decide at 70% — waiting for 90% costs more than being wrong.

  5. Respect the clock. Everyone at the table is spending their one life here — make it count.

Contact