- The Ryan Reynolds-backed $1.2 billion adtech firm MNTN is debuting on the New York Stock Exchange today. But the company’s secret to success hasn’t been all Hollywood publicity, rather its emphasis on coding: “I consider myself more of a software engineer than I do a CEO,” Mark Douglas, MNTN CEO tells Fortune.
You may know Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool or the co-founder of soaring British soccer team Wrexham AFC. However, the 48-year-old just obtained a new title: chief creative officer of a publicly-traded software company.
MNTN, an advertisement technology firm, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange today, seeking a valuation of over $1.2 billion. For any business, an IPO is one of the biggest achievements and a way to drum up brand awareness. But for Reynolds—whose digital marketing agency, Maximum Effort, was acquired by MNTN in 2021—it marks just the beginning, he tells Fortune in a statement.
“MNTN basically Houdini’d one of the most complicated parts of advertising—getting great ads on TV—and made it incredibly simple,” Reynolds says. “Maximum Effort and I are not exactly coders, but we can help with creating emotional investment.”
Despite the TV advertising industry being turned on its head by cable and streaming cord-cutters, the company grew revenue by 28% to $225 million last year. The company’s decision to operate like a top tech company has been integral to success, according to its CEO Mark Douglas.
“It led to not just creating a product, but creating a segment of the market,” Douglas tells Fortune, adding that a third of the company’s 500 team members now work in engineering—including, sometimes, himself. By the end of the year, it’ll be half.
From amateur coder to chief executive
Douglas grew up in the heart of New York City. Living with a single mom, he tells Fortune, he would visit the NYSE for fun (back when it was far easier to get inside) to marvel at the wonders of Wall Street trading. But little did he know he’d one day become a prominent business executive himself. His entrepreneurial drive, he says, all started when he taught himself how to code.
In fact, Douglas’ first job was using his self-taught computer skills to create software for Wall Street banks. From there, he landed top tech-related roles at Oracle, eHarmony, and Magnite before starting MNTN, where he began hiring a team of exceptional coders in order to reshape the TV advertising sector.
“I consider myself more of a software engineer than I do a CEO,” Douglas says. And while he doesn’t spend much time coding anymore, his background in tech has made his job far easier, because it helps him understand the possibilities and limitations of his team. Today, 70% of his time is spent focused on product or engineering.
Being a hands-on leader in the parking lot
As CEO, Douglas tends not just to sit behind a door in a corner office. He’s mingling with his team everyday—even in the parking lot.
“I’m not necessarily, in the last two or three years, hands-on keyboard coding. But I’m in the ‘Daily Parking Lot’ every single day,” Douglas says, referring to a two-hour block of time dedicated to discussing architecture features, named after his team’s brainstorming walks. They always wound up thinking of great ideas in their office parking lot.
“It’s blocked out on my calendar two hours a day, indefinitely, every business day.”
Reynolds says this quirky practice is emblematic of Douglas’ persistence and hands-on leadership style:
“Any great leader is made in moments of struggle, not success,” Reynolds says. “The Mark you see on CNBC is the exact same one you get in private, and I’ve seen that calm, confident, and insightful approach up close in some really tough situations. He doesn’t wilt or waver, and that’s exactly what you look for in a business partner.”
