40 Under 40 2021: Lisa Guo, Xaxis

Lisa Guo

Managing director of GroupM programmatic and platform services
Xaxis
China

Lisa Guo began her career working for the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp in communications. But her career in adtech didn’t really take off until she joined Miaozhen Systems as product marketing manager in 2010, overseeing the first-generation ad-tracking tool “AdMonitor” and the earliest third-party media budget allocation tool “MixReach”. This would form the basis of an insightful understanding of the Chinese digital ecosystem that continues to serve her well to this day.

Since joining  Xaxis China in 2014, she has rocketed her way through the ranks. In 2020, with over 14 years extensive background in digital media, she was appointed managing director of GroupM’s programmatic and platform services.

The pandemic has not stopped Guo from achieving impressive results. This year alone, she has grown the business 50% year over year. Her ability to connect the many complexities in the industry to create holistic solutions for clients in a rapidly changing climate has seen the company become a trusted advisor to notable new clients including Unilever, L’Occitane, UPS, Under Armour, Zespri, Total Petrol and DHL.

To further business outcomes and navigate China’s media complexities, Guo has been instrumental in creating and introducing a proprietary machine-learning tool, AOT, which reduces work processing time by 90% (from 10 hours to less than an hour). Furthermore, this multi-screen reach-optimisation tool for online video works across 300 cities. The tool’s launch has strengthened the company’s programmatic proposition in China and brought in $4 million in new revenue in the first three months. This has also translated to a 10% savings for clients.

As a leader, Guo is committed to mentoring trainees, especially women, to encourage making personal and professional growth a priority. As a guest professor and graduate student advisor at Shanghai International Studies University, she has co-developed lecture materials about programmatic advertising and made it available for students.