NextRoll Taps 'Operator' CEO for AdTech's New Era of AI and Growth

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – January 27, 2026 – In a significant strategic realignment, marketing technology firm NextRoll has announced that Chief Business Officer Vibhor Kapoor will ascend to the role of Chief Executive Officer, effective February 1, 2026. The move is part of a deliberate leadership restructuring designed to navigate a digital advertising market in the throes of profound transformation.

Roli Saxena, who has led the company as CEO since 2022, will transition to the newly created dual role of Executive Chair of the board and Chief Strategy Officer. This leadership shuffle signals a calculated effort by the privately held company to sharpen its operational execution while simultaneously accelerating its long-term innovation strategy.

A Strategic Split for a Shifting Market

The transition comes as the ad tech industry grapples with a complex new reality. While traditional display advertising faces headwinds from increased competition and margin pressures, explosive growth is occurring in emerging channels like Connected TV (CTV), digital out-of-home (DOOH), and marketing supercharged by artificial intelligence. NextRoll’s leadership evolution is a direct response to this dual-sided market, creating a structure that aims to optimize the present without sacrificing the future.

Saxena will now dedicate her focus to NextRoll's long-range strategic vision, identifying new growth vectors and ensuring the company remains ahead of the curve. Kapoor, known for his operational acumen, will take charge of day-to-day operations and driving performance across the business.

“As our industry evolves, we need relentless operational focus alongside clear, sustained investment in the future,” said Roli Saxena in the official announcement. “This transition allows us to do both. Vibhor is a proven operator with deep knowledge of our business, and I’m excited to support him as CEO while focusing my energy on NextRoll’s long-term innovation and growth strategy.”

An Operator's Playbook for the Next Phase

Vibhor Kapoor is not a new face at NextRoll. With four years in senior leadership, including roles as Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Business Officer, he has been a central figure in the company's recent evolution. Described as a "builder at heart," Kapoor brings nearly three decades of experience from tech giants like Adobe, Box, and Microsoft, where he was an early team member for the Azure cloud platform.

During his tenure at NextRoll, Kapoor has been instrumental in unifying the company's diverse offerings under its flagship AdRoll brand. He spearheaded the strategy that strengthened the platform’s product positioning and go-to-market execution, culminating in AdRoll more than doubling its platform SaaS revenue in 2022. His promotion to President of the AdRoll business unit in April 2023, a role previously held by Saxena, now appears to have been a clear step in a carefully orchestrated succession plan.

His track record is rooted in execution. At Adobe, he led go-to-market strategies for new categories in experience design, while at Box, he was VP of Marketing for its API platform. This deep experience in product marketing and scaling businesses is precisely what his new role demands.

“NextRoll is clear on where we win and what it takes to execute,” Kapoor stated. “I’ve seen this business from every angle, and my job as CEO is to turn that clarity into consistent performance, stronger customer outcomes and a business that scales with discipline.”

Targeting the AI-Powered Advertising Frontier

Kapoor takes the helm as NextRoll doubles down on its technological foundations to conquer the next wave of digital advertising. The company, which has leveraged AI and machine learning for nearly two decades, is positioning its AdRoll platform to capitalize on the market's shift toward more complex, data-driven channels.

NextRoll's technology processes over 150 billion daily buyer predictions, using a proprietary large language model to optimize campaign creation and performance. This deep-seated AI expertise is critical for competing in the burgeoning CTV space and for developing the privacy-forward solutions required in a post-cookie world—a domain where Kapoor has established himself as a thought leader.

Through his published articles, Kapoor has articulated a clear vision for navigating the future of attribution without third-party cookies and for integrating CTV more intentionally into cross-channel marketing campaigns. He has consistently championed holistic, privacy-conscious strategies that personalize user experiences without compromising trust. Under his leadership, NextRoll evolved its platform into a full-funnel, privacy-forward advertising solution, a crucial asset in the current regulatory climate.

This focus on technology and privacy is central to the AdRoll platform, which combines a multi-channel product for brands with AdRoll ABM, an account-based marketing solution for B2B teams. The goal is to provide a unified system that delivers clarity and performance across the entire customer journey. With Kapoor's operational focus and Saxena’s strategic oversight, NextRoll is betting it has found the leadership formula to not only adapt to the changing ad tech landscape but to actively shape its future.