Sandro Catanzaro Takes His American Dream to Mars and Back

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Sandro Catanzaro, who started several businesses in his native Peru but had no idea he’d end up helping NASA go to Mars, or that he’d use that same technology to plan and buy video ad campaigns. Now Head of Publisher Services Strategy for Roku, which acquired the company he founded, dataxu, in 2019, Mr. Catanzaro is an emblem of ingenuity and inventiveness. His demand-side platform, device graph technology and analytics platform help accelerate Roku’s ad tech roadmap and ability to serve a wide array of advertisers. But he’s not done yet!

Guest:

Sandro Catanzaro is the former founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Dataxu, which was acquired by Roku in 2019. He is now the Head of Advanced Solutions and Partnerships at Roku, and previously held positions at Bain & Company and NASA. He co-invented the real-time optimization algorithm at the core of the DataXu platform. Catanzaro is an industry thought leader and speaks at events such as Cannes Lions, dmexco, and the NAB Show. His perspective on the future of marketing, ranging from programmatic TV to advanced analytics, has influenced the industry for more than a decade. He is a founding member of the ABCD cross-functional PTV working group, which includes AOL, FOX, Havas, IPG and Omnicom Media Group. Catanzaro holds an MS from the MIT Sloan School of Management, an MS from MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a BS from the University of Buenos Aires. Prior to attending MIT, he launched five businesses in South America, including one that was acquired by Unilever.

Get new episodes of JobMakers in your inbox!

Related Posts

Six Years Later, Massachusetts Active Home Listings Remain 35% Below Pre-COVID Level

Our November edition of The House Call covers the dwindling availability of homes on the market in Massachusetts since 2019, even as many other states have seen full recoveries in the number of market listings after COVID. It discusses the implications of lower home availability for buyers and sellers alike and identifies a couple of major solutions.

New Pioneer Institute Analysis Finds Proposed Massachusetts Income-Tax Cut Unlikely to Cause Major State Revenue Decline

Lessons from the 2000 Massachusetts Income-Tax Rollback: A Reality-Check for the 2025 Ballot Debate is an empirical analysis of Massachusetts revenue data from FY1998–FY2021. The study concludes that a one-point rate reduction is unlikely to produce large, persistent revenue shortfalls, and that long-term fiscal stability depends far more on economic performance than on marginal rate differences.

Among Large Massachusetts Cities, Lawrence Had the Highest Home Value to Income Ratio in 2024

This edition of The House Call explores new American Community Survey data comparing home values and rents to household incomes in Massachusetts cities. It also discusses a proposed rezoning in Boston that would allow for taller buildings downtown.

Massachusetts’ Changing Demographic Landscape

This edition of Mapping Mass Migration features an analysis of recently released demographic estimates from the Census Bureau. Our analysis covers how Massachusetts' population has changed since the pandemic by race and age, discussing the state's shrinking youth population, its flat growth among prime-aged working demographics, its growing racial and ethnic diversity, and how it compares to other states. The newsletter concludes with a brief discussion of what implications these trends may have for the Bay State's future population growth.

Pioneer Institute Joins Pew Charitable Trusts in Call to Expand Housing Affordability

Pioneer Institute is pleased to join a statement of shared principles organized by the Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C., aimed at enhancing housing availability and affordability nationwide. 

Massachusetts’ Capital Investment Plan Earmarks $415 Million for Housing in FY2026

This edition of The House Call breaks down the housing items in Massachusetts' FY2026-FY2030 Capital Investment Plan. It also explains a new policy ordered by the Department of Public Utilities that would require natural gas customers to pay more for new hookups.

New Study Highlights Tax Reforms that Would Enhance Massachusetts’ Competitiveness

Research indicates that tax policy plays a key role in outmigration from Massachusetts, and a new study published by Pioneer Institute highlights six tax reforms that would help the Commonwealth address its outmigration and competitiveness challenges. 

Despite Statewide Legalization, Boston has a lot of Work to Do to Allow By-Right ADUs Within Its Borders

This edition of The House Call explains why the City of Boston is behind the curve on broadly allowing accessory dwelling units by right, and what it's doing to catch up. The newsletter also explores the (limited) housing options for seasonal workers on Cape Cod and how some employers are housing workers in company-owned buildings.

Pioneer Institute Joins Coalition of Business and Taxpayers to Support Affordability, Job and Economic Growth

Boston, MA — The two 2026 ballot proposals filed today—one to lower the state income tax from 5% to 4% over three years, and another to strengthen the state’s tax revenue cap (“62F”)—represent concrete steps to return billions to taxpayers and restore Massachusetts’ economic competitiveness. According to fiscal modeling by the Mass Opportunity Alliance (MOA), of which Pioneer Institute is a founding member, the income tax reduction alone would save the average taxpayer more than $1,300 annually. 

Massachusetts Local Pensions: Fund Count, Access, and Benefits

Public employee pensions contribute to national savings, representing 21 percent of retirement assets according to the Urban Institute. These pensions help public workers plan and live out retirement, especially the 97 percent of Massachusetts government employees who do not earn Social Security benefits through their current job.