Andre Swanston offers an unconventional tale of ad tech entrepreneurship. The Bronx-raised son of immigrants and onetime nightclub owner first took an interest in streaming television as an advertiser before founding his household graph startup. "It was such a big leap that my mother cried," he says.

MediaLink's Chairman and CEO talks about the evolution of his company and what to expect this year in Cannes. MediaLink and the Cannes Lions festival, which kicks off Monday June 17, are sister companies owned by Ascential. Kassan was among the first media executives to attend the show in the 1990s, when it was primarily a destination for creatives. 

Jana Meron addresses the factors that make programmatic work for (or against) media companies. 

A free-wheeling talk with the ad legend and S4 Capital executive chairman. Sorrell crows about S4's first year, has some choice words for WPP and pontificates on macro-economic factors impacting the marketing sector.