Partnering is a Win-Win-Win: Meet Len Ostroff

Len joins as SVP of Partnerships to expand Crisp’s data reach and build new solutions for CPG brands and retailers. 

Meet Len

Role: SVP of Partnerships
Lives in: Suburbs of Baltimore, MD
Favorite grocery store product: Anything dark chocolate (he also has a special hiding place in the kitchen for Oreos).

Len Ostroff is all about creating the win-win-win. As a partnerships executive, he has a wealth of experience building relationships that help customers unlock new capabilities while accelerating business for both partners. We sat down with Len to discuss his background, his newest role as Crisp’s SVP of Partnerships, and the opportunity he sees to connect the dots across the retail landscape.

A partnership pro

Len brings over 20 years of partnerships experience across technology, advertising, and marketing to his role at Crisp. He actually started his career as a software developer prior to founding the corporate venture group of a TV broadcaster. Len reflects that through that experience, he gained an appreciation for the value of data in impacting critical business outcomes. It’s also how he ultimately transitioned into the ad-tech space, where he’s built partnership teams at multiple companies.

Len joins us from Twilio, where he developed partnerships with over 150 global mobile carriers as Vice President of Carrier Relations. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President of Global Supply and Partnerships at Criteo, a global advertising technology company. In that role, Len was responsible for $2 billion of digital spend across thousands of websites and apps, and spearheaded the development of a first party data solution that supported Criteo’s 22,000+ clients.

Experience across tech, advertising, and marketing could have taken Len in a few different directions — but when he heard how Crisp was using data to transform the supply chain, he immediately wanted to be part of it. As Len says, “At Crisp, the partnership opportunities are endless. Both through the data itself and the companies we’re working with, we can signficantly enhance value for companies across the supply chain while also doing good and reducing waste.”

Expanding the reach of data

When Len started at Crisp, he was surprised to find just how much opportunity there really was: “I was amazed to find that even the most sophisticated brands in the world still have blind spots with how they manage their business. Crisp enables organizations to simply and easily access and utilize valuable retail data in a manner not formerly possible.” 

Len has already jumped in to meet the challenge. One of his goals is partnering with other tech solutions to extend the reach of Crisp’s data for customers, enabling them to use data in whatever platform is important to them – from cloud platforms to core business applications.

This also means diversifying the ways data can be implemented in CPG, including helping CPG brands activate retail data for marketing purposes. For example, through a recent partnership with OMG, Crisp is now helping brands leverage timely sales and POS inventory data to optimize and measure advertising campaigns.

After 20 years in partnerships, Len has a philosophy on how to design them successfully. He starts with understanding each partner’s solution and its value to the rest of the ecosystem. From there, he prioritizes partnership opportunities that have triple value: they create value for the partner, for Crisp, and most importantly, for the mutual clients. 

Life at the home base

Len works his magic from his family’s home in Maryland, which he loves: he’s conveniently near Baltimore and Washington D.C., but also the beach and the mountains. He takes advantage by doing something active every day – whether that’s the gym or bike, walking his chocolate lab, or tending to his sprawling garden. And while he’s loved more time with his family during the pandemic, he’s also a traveler who’s looking forward to meeting Crisp partners at upcoming industry events.

All of this keeps Len energized and inspired to move forward. He summed it up well: “At Crisp, the mission is clear and compelling, the team is incredibly strong, our clients love us… and we’re just getting started.”

To join Len and the Crisp team (he’s hiring!), check out open positions on our careers page. To stay tuned for more insights, subscribe to the blog.