Meet Aska, Publisher Development Director Spain at Sublime

Hi, can you say a few words about you?

I was born and raised in Japan. I have been working in Madrid since 2003 after living in the US for several years. I had different experiences through those years, ad network, rep firm, publisher, and ad tech, mostly in the area of sales. I also worked in an agency briefly in the very beginning of my career back in Tokyo.

Can you tell us about your position at Sublime?

I am Publisher Development Director for the Spanish market. I make sure to have quality inventory, by signing up new publishers and then maintaining the relationships with them. Analyzing our network is my responsibility as well.

Who has been the biggest influence on your career? Why?

A teacher who taught me media planning and buying at the university. I originally thought about pursuing my career in the creative area, but after taking her class, I realized how dynamic working on the media side was. I thus mainly dedicated myself to the media since then.

So you have lived in several countries and I think that you speak a lot of languages, right? Can you tell us more about your background?

Yes, I am originally from Tokyo, but lived in the United States for about five years, studying and working. That is why I speak Japanese and English, besides Spanish. I also took lessons in Chinese and Portuguese briefly. I like learning new cultures and the languages come along.

What do you like the most about your job?

People, both the Sublime team and people involved such as partners or clients. By interacting with others, I learn and also have much fun. Plenty of great people around!

What about being a woman in adtech?

It is true that there are less women in adtech sales, but there are quite a lot in the product and account management area. And at Sublime there are a great deal of women involved in the tech and taking initiatives, we are on track!

What is your greatest strength and your biggest weakness?

My greatest strength is patience and being spontaneous. And the same strength could be a weakness sometimes! My weakness on the personal side is… frogs, not the real frogs, but any goods with frogs. I have several ceramic frogs on my shelves, frog napkin rings in the drawer, candles, a silver ring on my finger :-)

And finally, how would you describe your work to a child?

A difficult question, but I would say I connect websites, who offer ad space, and advertisers who want to present their products and services. I am helping those companies to grow their business... in short words.