From left: James Heckman, Roundtable CEO and Founder; Erin Schaefer, Roundtable board member; and Eyal Hertzog, Roundtable co-founder and CTO.
Former head of Global Brand advertising for Google and Global Operations for YouTube unites with Pioneering Veterans, Digital Media Pioneers, James Heckman and Eyal Hertzog, to help bring Roundtable’s transformational AI/DeFi-powered platform to the professional media industry.
SEATTLE, WA, Oct. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Roundtable (Nasdaq: RTB), an AI/DeFi-powered Enterprise Media OS, today announced that Erin Schaefer has joined its Board of Directors. As a transformative leader in digital innovation, Ms. Schaefer brings a 20-year track record of senior technology leadership, scaling and leading high-stakes, multi-billion-dollar commercial engines for Google, YouTube, and Niantic Games, and more recently, leading General Catalyst ($43B+ AUM) as Chief Operating Officer. Throughout her career, Schaefer has been at the forefront of leading global operations at the frontier of technology.
Ms. Schaefer’s 14-year tenure at Google included serving as Managing Director of Global Operations at YouTube, Managing Director of Global Brand Advertising Strategy, and leading Americas video advertising, where she built the brand commercialization engine from scratch into a $10B+ global revenue business. As COO at General Catalyst, she directed the operating model, capital allocation and Applied AI transformation. As General Manager at Niantic, Erin oversaw US Gaming Studio and Publishing, leading to a multi-billion-dollar exit.
Schaefer’s appointment brings together three pioneering digital media leaders whose careers often intersected as architects and competitors. Before Schaefer led and helped build Google’s brand and YouTube advertising businesses, Heckman architected the landmark Google-MySpace partnership that launched Google’s social advertising marketplace, before his News Corp strategy team architected Hulu’s business model to compete directly with YouTube. Their paths crossed again when Heckman created the world’s largest premium media marketplace, partnering with MSN, Yahoo and AOL - as global media strategy leader at Yahoo - while Schaefer led Google’s directly competing “brand-advertising” business. Earlier still, Roundtable co-founder Eyal Hertzog created MetaCafe, the first social video platform, with tens of millions of users, while inventing the algorithmic personalization feed.
“Partnering with Erin Schaefer brings an extraordinary track record to an already extraordinary team of digital media pioneers,” said Founder James Heckman. “She adds a rare combination of transformational technology leadership and major brand relationships. We’re honored to have Erin help guide our team.”
"My entire career has been about using technology to help passionate voices build sustainable businesses, from YouTube creators to the brands that support them," said Erin Schaefer. "Professional journalism deserves the same. I believe this elite team of media technology pioneers can give it a brighter future, and James and Eyal Hertzog have built the platform to do it, with the full technology stack of AI, DeFi, and on-chain publishing under one roof."
Schaefer is uniquely positioned to solidify Roundtable’s elite team, bringing her own major media ecosystem, strategy, and experience and sharing the goal of preserving sovereignty for professional media. Founding team and board members include former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Great Britain (hon Liz Truss), inventor of both the social video platform and DeFi technology (Eyal Hertzog), platform engineering head for MSN before leading 6 global platforms (Bill Sornsin), and founder and internet pioneer, James Heckman, responsible for 11 successful digital platforms, including 3 public exits, multiple acquisitions (including 2 to Yahoo, 1 to News Corp), and Publisher of an NFL publishing network.
Ms. Schaefer holds a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. She has served on public, private company, and nonprofit boards, including the Hillsborough Schools Foundation, where she is currently president. The appointment is detailed in the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Roundtable (RTB Digital, Inc.)
Roundtable (NASDAQ: RTB) is an AI/DeFi-powered Enterprise Media Operating System, integrating distribution, publishing, monetization, community, syndication, and DeFi payment operations, powering professional and major media brands. The Web3 platform was developed over years by digital pioneers and co-founders Eyal Hertzog and James Heckman. For more information, visit roundtable.io.
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