LiveRamp Taps Commerce Media Visionary for AI-Powered Future

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – February 17, 2026 – Data collaboration network LiveRamp (NYSE: RAMP) today announced a significant strategic move, appointing Kristi Argyilan, a chief architect of the modern retail media landscape, to its Board of Directors. The appointment signals a deliberate effort by the company to deepen its expertise in commerce media as it accelerates its mission to build the essential data infrastructure for AI-powered marketing.

Argyilan, currently the Global Head of Advertising at Uber, brings a wealth of experience from her transformative roles at Target and Albertsons, where she pioneered many of the strategies that now define the multi-billion dollar retail media industry. Her arrival on the board comes as LiveRamp doubles down on its AI initiatives, aiming to help marketers navigate an increasingly fragmented digital world.

A Strategic Union of Data and Commerce

LiveRamp has positioned itself as the neutral plumbing connecting the disparate data sources of the global advertising ecosystem. The company's appointment of Argyilan is a clear move to fuse its foundational data technology with top-tier operational expertise from the rapidly expanding world of commerce media.

"Kristi is a rare talent who didn’t just participate in the retail media revolution—she wrote the blueprint for it," said Scott Howe, CEO of LiveRamp, in a statement. "As commerce media matures into a critical pillar of the global economy, Kristi’s deep operational expertise and visionary mindset will be invaluable. Her leadership will be pivotal as we accelerate AI-powered marketing to help our customers drive business growth and build enduring brand value."

This sentiment is echoed by Argyilan, who sees a powerful synergy between her background and LiveRamp's market position. "I have long admired LiveRamp for its unique position as the essential data collaboration network connecting the advertising ecosystem," she stated. "Commerce media is entering a new era of maturity where success is defined by the strength of the network and the ability to drive and understand real-world actions. I am thrilled to join the Board and help LiveRamp continue to lead the industry in creating value through secure, trusted collaboration.”

Her appointment reinforces the company’s strategy to not just provide data connectivity, but to offer the strategic guidance and product innovation necessary for brands and retailers to thrive in an AI-driven era.

The Architect of Modern Retail Media

Often called the "godmother" of retail media, Kristi Argyilan’s career is a roadmap of the industry's evolution. Her influence is most profoundly felt through her work at Target, where she was the founding President of Roundel. Under her leadership, Roundel became the gold standard for retail media networks, demonstrating how a retailer could effectively leverage its first-party data to create a powerful, high-margin advertising business. She transformed Target's vendor marketing program into a sophisticated media entity that integrated paid, owned, and earned media channels.

Following her success at Target, Argyilan took on the role of Senior Vice President of Retail Media at Albertsons Companies. There, she led the growth of the Albertsons Media Collective, bringing its operations in-house and championing a crucial industry-wide cause: measurement standardization. Her advocacy for more transparent and consistent metrics addressed a major pain point for advertisers navigating the complex and often opaque retail media landscape.

Currently, as Global Head of Advertising at Uber, she is tasked with scaling the company's advertising business across its mobility and delivery platforms, a unit on track to surpass $1 billion in revenue. Her experience spans both building these networks from the ground up and scaling them into significant global revenue streams, giving her a unique 360-degree view of the commerce media ecosystem. Her additional board positions at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the ad verification company Zefr further cement her status as a central figure shaping industry standards and practices.

Powering the Next Wave of AI in Marketing

Argyilan’s appointment is timed perfectly with LiveRamp's aggressive push into artificial intelligence. Throughout 2025 and into 2026, the company has rolled out a suite of AI-focused partnerships and capabilities. This includes collaborations with AI search engine Perplexity to personalize search experiences and with Chalice to build AI-powered custom audiences on major platforms like Meta and YouTube.

Internally, LiveRamp has integrated AI to enhance its core offerings. Marketers using its platform can now leverage AI-powered segmentation, using natural language prompts to create highly specific audience segments from multiple data sources. The company also expanded its Data Marketplace to include datasets and pre-built models specifically designed for training and deploying AI applications.

This is where Argyilan's expertise becomes particularly potent. The effectiveness of any marketing AI is contingent on the quality and breadth of the data it's trained on. Her deep understanding of leveraging first-party retail data within privacy-safe frameworks aligns directly with LiveRamp's emphasis on data clean rooms and other privacy-enhancing technologies. Her guidance will be instrumental in helping LiveRamp ensure its network not only powers AI but does so responsibly, providing marketers with the trusted signals needed to build intelligent, personalized consumer experiences without compromising privacy.

Navigating a Booming, Fragmented Market

The commerce media sector is experiencing explosive growth, with global revenues projected to exceed $176 billion in 2025 and capture one-fifth of all digital ad spending. However, this boom has created a complex and fragmented market with over 250 competing retail media networks. Advertisers face significant challenges in achieving cross-network measurement and verifying the incremental impact of their spend.

Argyilan's historical push for measurement standardization at Albertsons and her work with the IAB directly address this core industry problem. Her presence on LiveRamp's board strengthens the company's position as a neutral arbiter capable of helping unify these fragmented signals. By providing a common infrastructure for data collaboration and measurement, LiveRamp is poised to bring much-needed clarity and efficiency to the ecosystem.

This strategic board addition has been made against a backdrop of strong financial performance and positive market sentiment for LiveRamp. Analysts have maintained buy ratings and raised price targets in recent months, citing strong execution and continued sales momentum. The company's third-quarter 2026 earnings surpassed expectations, with revenue growing 9% year-over-year. The appointment of an industry titan like Kristi Argyilan is likely to further bolster investor confidence, signaling that LiveRamp is not only executing on its current strategy but is also strategically positioning itself for the next frontier of data-driven advertising.