Shoppertainment Pioneer Firework Adds Senior Executives Hailing from Google, Snap, American Express, and Albertsons to Its Growing Leadership Team

SAN MATEO, Calif., Jan. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Livestream commerce platform provider Firework announced today four new appointments to its executive leadership team – Suzanne Strasser Grant, Steve Stafford, Eva Wang, and Mark Wurtzel. These four, seasoned executives join the Firework team during a period of explosive growth. Together, they will work to both guide and accelerate the company's upward trajectory as it continues to forge strategic partnerships and expand its market share in the new year.

Suzanne Strasser Grant has joined Firework as its new SVP, Global Head of Agency and Strategic Partnerships. The 25-plus-year sales, business development and partnership veteran has held leadership positions with some of the world's leading television, print, and digital publishers and broadcasters. Before Firework, Strasser Grant's decorated career has included leadership roles at global powerhouses Google, Snap, NBCU and Uber. Prior to joining Snap as their first Director of Global Agency Business Development, Strasser Grant spent nearly nine years at Google at the forefront of their new media platforms, including Search, Google TV Ads , Display, Video and the Upfront Deal teams.

Mark Wurtzel has joined as Firework's new VP, Head of Brand Solutions, and is an accomplished leader with an extensive management and sales background in digital and traditional media. Prior to joining Firework, Mark spent 13 years at Google, leading multiple teams across Search activation, large customer success and sales activation, and television advertising. Prior to Google, Mark spent nearly 15 years at Sony Pictures Television where he headed up west coast syndication sales as SVP, Western Region Syndication while previously managing the division's syndication research efforts. 

Eva Wang now serves as Firework's new Head of Commerce and Partnerships, where she is responsible for the company's commercial expansion and strategic partnership growth. She brings extensive experience leading partnerships with organizations of all sizes, ranging from seed-stage start-ups to global enterprises. Prior to joining Firework, Wang held multiple leadership roles at American Express, most recently heading up their U.S. Acquiring Partnership team. There, she was responsible for the company's strategic relationships with leading global payment providers.

Steve Stafford has joined Firework as the company's newest Head of Retail, leading all retail relationships for the business worldwide. In his efforts to drive retail partner success, Stafford draws upon a diverse professional portfolio, including experience in the fields of Accounting and Consumer Packaged Goods. More recently, Stafford spent 10-plus years disrupting the retail space with digital and omni-channel initiatives at major conglomerates such as Albertsons Companies and Sears Holdings Corporation.

"We're very excited to have such accomplished leaders joining our team," said Vincent Yang, Co-Founder and CEO of Firework. "With decades of combined leadership experience and impeccable track records at the topmost echelons of the business world, Suzanne, Steve, Eva, and Mark will all be instrumental in Firework's continued success. Ultimately, the full scope of Firework's success will be predicated upon the quality of our personnel and the expertise they bring to our day-to-day operations and decision-making. And to that end, we couldn't ask for a better group of professionals to join our growing team."

Firework enters 2022 riding a wave of significant momentum after several major successes elevated its profile in 2021. Successful partnerships with household names such as Albertsons Companies, Heinz® and the PGA Tour — in addition to a successful Series A investment round and a significant investment deal from Amex Ventures — have established Firework as the frontrunner in the race to capture the burgeoning shoppertainment market in the West.

About Firework
Firework is the world's leading immersive "shoppertainment" platform with shoppable video, live streaming commerce and monetization capabilities powering over 600 direct-to-consumer brands, retailers and media publishers worldwide. Pandemic-accelerated, Firework has experienced 10x year-over-year growth, bringing TikTok-like interactive video experiences to your own website or app. Firework enables its customers to create and host native, shoppable video content for engaging product discovery, seamless shopping experiences and ultimately, a deeper emotional connection with consumers. The company is backed by IDG Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and GSR Ventures, with over $100 million in capital raised to date. To learn more, please visit firework.com.

Media Contact
Fatimah Nouilati
Scratch Marketing + Media for Firework
[email protected]

SOURCE Firework