Veritone Appoints Head of Communications, Business Unit Marketing Leaders

Veritone, Inc. (Nasdaq: VERI), a leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and solutions, today announced the appointment of Thor Valdmanis as Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Locke Truong as Vice President of Marketing for Media & Entertainment and Monetization and Ryan Bazler as Vice President of Marketing for aiWARE.

“Veritone’s world-class technology is ready to take the main stage and lead the AI everywhere revolution,” said Chad Steelberg, CEO of Veritone. “Adding Thor, Locke and Ryan to the team will assist us in delivering our message loud and clear: Our powerful AI operating system is ready to help usher in a new world order, a true fellowship between man and machine.”

Reporting to the CEO, Valdmanis is expected to help present a powerful, unified vision as Veritone expands into new markets in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

“I am thrilled to join Veritone, a pioneer in the AI industry,” said Valdmanis. “It is clear the company Chad Steelberg and his brother Ryan co-founded six years ago is accelerating innovation and growth in new global markets. My job will be to help build a brand and a business that is widely recognized as being both best-in-class and on the right side of history.”

Valdmanis comes from The Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones, where he advised the CEO and led company-wide new business and branding initiatives, working closely with the company’s top 250 global clients. Prior to that, Valdmanis was an adviser to global CEOs and has three decades of experience as a corporate communications executive and award-winning business journalist.

Truong previously served as head of global product marketing at Ingram Micro, leading go-to-market strategy for the world’s largest cloud marketplace and most powerful commerce platform. At Ingram, he helped guide the company’s transformation from a traditional wholesale distributor to a modern digital commerce business. Truong has more than 20 years of digital marketing, brand marketing and product marketing experience, from internet startups to leading brands like CarsDirect.com, OpenX and Yahoo!.

“I am excited to be leading Marketing for Veritone’s Media & Entertainment and Monetization businesses,” Truong stated. “AI is increasingly empowering media & entertainment companies to automate processes, increase their operating efficiencies and diversify their content monetization. With its culture of speed, innovation and disruption, Veritone is well-positioned to lead the AI revolution.”