Direct Digital Holdings Appoints Maria Vilchez Lowrey as Chief Growth Officer for Next Phase of Growth

Proven Track-Record in Delivering Revenue & Channel Development Results in the Energy Sector to Power Direct Digital Holdings' Business Development

HOUSTON, Aug. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT), a leading advertising and marketing technology platform and owner of operating companies Colossus SSP, Huddled Masses, and Orange 142, announced today that Maria Vilchez Lowrey has joined as Chief Growth Officer. In this newly created role, reporting to Chairman and CEO Mark Walker as a member of Direct Digital Holdings' leadership team, Vilchez Lowrey is responsible for leading business development, channel development, and integrating the management of brand related activities across Direct Digital Holdings' portfolio of brands.

Additionally, her appointment marks the professional reunion of Vilchez Lowrey with CEO Walker: they worked together earlier in their careers at NRG Energy, a leading Fortune 300 integrated power company. Vilchez Lowrey is an experienced sales leader with a proven 20-year record in creating business-to-consumer and business-to-business sales capabilities at scale within the Fortune 500.

"Few executives have the depth of experience and track-record to accelerate our business to the next level of growth – all while sharing our values and vision for the company," said Walker. "Having worked together before, I can confidently say that Maria is a transformational executive leader, and I am certain that she will be instrumental in continuing Direct Digital Holdings' fast-paced growth, setting us up for continued success."

Vilchez Lowrey comes to Direct Digital Holdings from Just Energy, where she served as Senior Vice President of Direct Sales and Partnerships for Just Energy, Amigo Energy, Tara Energy, and Terrapass, its affiliate brands. There, she was responsible for diversifying the company's direct sales channels by launching its first national retail partnership with one of the largest retailers in the world. Prior to that, she served in various key management positions across sales leadership, business development, operations, and project management at NRG Energy, Inc., primarily responsible for building new go-to-market sales channels and developing strategic partnerships with the most well-known brands in the country. Prior to NRG, Maria started her career in the steel industry as global supply chain transportation and procurement manager serving large multi-national consumer companies.

"Mark and his leadership team have built an impressive company, delivering on both the sell-and buy-sides of the advertising technology equation," said Vilchez Lowrey. "The programmatic advertising and martech solutions that they bring to the marketplace are attracting top-tier and mid-market brands due to their high-levels of performance. I look forward to helping the group, its clients, and partners exceed market expectations."

Vilchez Lowrey holds a B.S. in Management Information Systems from Texas A&M University.

An active member of the non-profit community, Lowrey serves as a board member for Homemade Hope and is an advisory council member for Houston Arts Alliance and Dress for Success Houston. Maria has been honored as Top 100 Diversity Leaders in Energy by the National Diversity Council in Feb 2021.

Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT), owner of operating companies Colossus SSP, Huddled Masses, and Orange 142, brings state-of-the-art sell- and buy-side advertising platforms together under one umbrella company. Direct Digital Holdings' sell-side platform, Colossus SSP, offers advertisers of all sizes extensive reach within general market and multicultural media properties. The company's subsidiaries Huddled Masses and Orange142 deliver significant ROI for middle market advertisers by providing data-optimized programmatic solutions at scale for businesses in sectors that range from energy to healthcare to travel to financial services. Direct Digital Holdings' sell- and buy-side solutions manage approximately 90,000 clients monthly, generating over 100 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels. The company has been named a top minority-owned business by The Houston Business Journal.

SOURCE Direct Digital Holdings