Key Takeaways
- Riccardo Fabbri, former co‑founder and managing partner of Nohup (acquired by Havas Group in 2021), has been appointed Chief Technology Officer of Audiencerate Ltd.
- His role will drive AI‑enhanced development on two parallel tracks: the Postel–Microsoft platform for Italian SMEs and the DV360‑integrated data platform for global media agencies and data providers.
- Fabbri brings over twenty years of expertise in software engineering, cloud architecture, and privacy‑compliant media workflows, aligning with GDPR, the AI Act, and the Italian Consumer Code.
- Audiencerate is a rare dual‑certified partner: Google Customer Match Upload Partner, Google Data Provider since 2012, Microsoft IP Co‑sell/MACC‑eligible, and ISO 27001 certified.
- The announced expansion aims to fuse first‑party and third‑party data through machine‑learning models that enable predictive scoring, look‑alike audiences, and automated budget/bid optimisation while maintaining privacy compliance.
Appointment of Riccardo Fabbri as CTO
Riccardo Fabbri has been named Chief Technology Officer of Audiencerate Ltd, effective immediately. The appointment signals a strategic shift toward deeper AI integration across the company’s two flagship offerings. Fabbri’s background as a co‑founder and former managing partner of Nohup—a digital consultancy recognised by the Financial Times as one of Europe’s leading firms in 2021 and 2022—provides him with a proven track record in scaling technology businesses and delivering complex cloud‑native solutions. His move to Audiencerate follows Nohup’s acquisition by the Havas Group in August 2021, where he helped integrate 30 professionals across Milan, Turin, and Udine into Havas CX.
Professional Background and Expertise
With more than twenty years of experience in software development, cloud architectures, and digital transformation, Fabbri brings a blend of engineering rigor and media‑industry insight to Audiencerate. At Nohup he led teams that built scalable, secure platforms for clients across Europe, earning recognition for technical excellence and privacy‑by‑design approaches. His deep understanding of media operational workflows, combined with strict adherence to GDPR, the forthcoming AI Act, and the Italian Consumer Code, positions him as an ideal architect for Audiencerate’s data‑activation ambitions in a regulated environment.
Dual‑Track Expansion Strategy
Under Fabbri’s leadership, Audiencerate will pursue two parallel growth trajectories. The first track focuses on the Postel platform—a MadTech solution for Italian small‑ and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs) powered by Audiencerate and delivered through Poste Italiane on Microsoft Azure. The second track concerns Audiencerate’s data platform for global media agencies and data providers, which is already a Google DV360 Customer Match Partner. Both tracks will evolve to natively leverage first‑party and third‑party data through AI and machine learning, enabling more precise audience targeting while respecting evolving privacy standards.
AI‑Driven Capabilities for Italian SMEs
On the SME side, AI and machine learning will power continuous model learning, predictive propensity scoring, look‑alike audience generation, and customer‑lifetime‑value (CLV) modelling. These capabilities will allow Postel to self‑optimise budget allocation and bid management in real time, helping Italian SMEs maximise return on ad spend without requiring deep in‑house data science expertise. By embedding these models directly into the Postel‑Microsoft stack, Audiencerate aims to democratise sophisticated marketing technology for millions of Italian businesses.
Enhancements for Global Media Agencies
For agencies and data providers, Fabbri will oversee the evolution of Audiencerate’s DV360‑integrated offering. Advertisers’ first‑party data will serve as the seed for look‑alike and propensity models that are enriched with third‑party signals, creating audiences that combine the relevance of 1P data with the scale of 3P data. The resulting hybrid audiences will be fully compliant with privacy regulations and the evolving cookie ecosystem, giving trading desks the intelligent, automated tools they need to recover margins in a increasingly competitive market.
Statements from Leadership
Gianluca Leotta, President of Audiencerate, described Fabbri’s arrival as “the missing piece,” highlighting his entrepreneur‑technologist pedigree, international media‑agency experience, and intimate knowledge of Audiencerate’s technical trajectory. Riccardo Fabbri himself noted that Audiencerate holds a “unique technological asset” as a dual‑certified data provider within both Google and Microsoft ecosystems—an advantage few competitors can claim. He characterised the upcoming work as both challenging and exciting, emphasizing the engineering challenge of fusing first‑ and third‑party data at scale while delivering automation that restores market‑recognised margins.
Audiencerate’s Market Position and Certifications
Audiencerate Ltd, headquartered in London with operational bases in Italy and the United States, specialises in data activation, audience intelligence, and AI‑driven marketing. The company holds several elite credentials: Google Customer Match Upload Partner (certified December 2025), Google Data Provider since 2012, Microsoft IP Co‑sell and MACC‑eligible partner, and ISO 27001 certification for information security management. Its flagship enterprise client in Italy is NEXI, underscoring the platform’s ability to serve large‑scale, security‑conscious organisations.
Strategic Importance of Postel and Microsoft Collaboration
The Postel platform represents a joint venture between Audiencerate, Poste Italiane, and Microsoft, leveraging Azure’s robust cloud infrastructure to deliver a MadTech solution tailored to Italian SMEs. By combining Poste Italiane’s extensive reach with Microsoft’s enterprise‑grade cloud services and Audiencerate’s data‑activation expertise, the partnership aims to bring advanced audience‑targeting capabilities to a segment historically underserved by sophisticated marketing technology. Fabbri’s AI‑first approach will ensure that the platform continuously learns from campaign performance, improving targeting accuracy and efficiency over time.
Future Outlook and Industry Impact
With Fabbri at the helm of its technology roadmap, Audiencerate is poised to deepen its influence in both the SME and agency markets. The dual focus on privacy‑compliant AI‑driven audience models addresses a critical industry need: delivering high‑performance marketing without compromising on data protection regulations. As the AI Act and GDPR shape the European digital landscape, Audiencerate’s integrated approach—combining first‑party relevance, third‑party scale, and automated optimisation—could set a new benchmark for how media technology providers harness data in a responsible, scalable manner. The appointment marks not just a leadership change but a clear signal of Audiencerate’s commitment to long‑term, innovation‑led growth.