Dave Pickles returns to The Trade Desk to lead a new CTO Council

Key points

• Pickles, co-founder and former CTO, left the company and its board in 2023 and has advised since then.
• The council will work with engineering and product teams on the core technology and product roadmap.
• The announcement comes a week before The Trade Desk's expected Nov. 9 third-quarter earnings report.
• The Trade Desk did not say whether Pickles returns full time, rejoins the board, or holds an officer title.

Why it matters for marketers: Marketers relying on The Trade Desk's platform should watch whether its technology roadmap, including AI agent tools, shifts under renewed engineering leadership.