11 November 2025
In an industry known for its fast pace and constant change, long-term commitment is something worth celebrating. At smartclip, many of our colleagues have been with us for years — a rare occurrence in adtech. One of those colleagues is René Wagner, who has spent the past decade helping shape the technology and operations that power our platform. To mark his ten-year anniversary, we sat down with René to reflect on his journey and the milestones along the way.
How did your career path take you to smartclip?
Like many smartclippers, I started out at Lycos Europe, where I began my career as a developer in 2006. That’s how I met Thomas Servatius, who oversaw my manager back then. When the company closed in 2009, I moved to Yahoo!, where I first got a taste of adtech.
During my 3 years there, I built a team as a Senior Ad Technology Specialist — but when I heard the team would be reassigned, I knew it was time to move on.
And here’s where it gets funny: that very same day, Thomas Servatius called me. He had just founded a company and asked if I could imagine joining him. I said, “If you send me a contract tonight, I’ll resign tomorrow.” And that’s exactly how it went.
Sounds like it was meant to be?
You could say that — but it gets even better. The company Thomas founded was called Exactag, where I took on the role of CTO. About two years later, the company was acquired by IPONWEB — and, well, since they already had their own architects and technology managers, they weren’t very interested in a second opinion.
Still, we managed to launch a new, modern UI project that turned out to be a hit. But I could feel it was time for something new.
And then, in perfect timing, Thomas reached out again: “I’m moving to smartclip. Are you coming with me?”
So I did. Maybe it really was meant to be after all.
You’ve been with smartclip for 10 years now. What would you say is your greatest success during this time?
There have been many highlights, but if I had to pick one, it would be the introduction of Kubernetes and the new development workflows that came with it.
When I joined smartclip, I was tasked with building our Addressable TV technology. It quickly became clear that our operational setup was very traditional, with all the usual issues — like the classic “works on my machine” attitude. I wanted to change that completely.
We built a new production, development, and QA process with 100% code coverage. It worked so well that I was later asked to scale it across the company. Today, smartclip runs entirely on Kubernetes — no traditional server operations remain. That’s rare in our industry, and I’d say successfully restructuring our entire tech setup is one of my biggest achievements.
And that’s what led you to become CTO?
Yes and no. At first, it meant expanding my responsibilities beyond Addressable TV to include operations. We started rolling out Kubernetes, automating development systems, and implementing better quality assurance.
Over the next two years, we migrated everything, wrapping up with the ad server in 2018. Along the way, I got involved in development processes across other teams, which naturally led to restructuring them. In many ways, I was already doing the job of a CTO — just without the title.
At the time, though, there were still areas I didn’t feel ready to take full responsibility for. That’s why I first became Chief Innovation Officer. Our focus was on operational innovation — not product innovation — but it was still pioneering work
Eventually, I realised I was overseeing almost everything anyway. The CTO position was still open, and one day Thomas and I just looked at each other and said, “Alright, let’s make it official.”
Is there something you wish you had known before you started?
No, not at all. There’s nothing I’ve learned in hindsight that would make me question joining smartclip. On the contrary, I’ve never worked at a company that’s brought me as much joy.
Other jobs had their limits, but here I get to do work I love with genuinely great people. I have zero regrets.
How would you describe the smartclip spirit? What does it mean to you?
For me, it’s about working with people who really know their craft. My colleagues understand the platform and the technology inside out. They don’t just look for a quick fix — they want to solve problems properly. That dedication to doing things the right way is what I value most about the smartclip spirit.
What is your favourite memory?
There are honestly too many to choose from. I know that sounds like a dodge, but it’s true.
I have great memories from our offsites and from milestones like moving the ad server to Kubernetes. We didn’t get much sleep back then, but I enjoyed those late nights watching and optimising the system in real-time.
So no single moment stands out above the rest. There have just been a lot of good ones.
Lee is the Marketing Specialist Europe at smartclip and is responsible for content writing, editing, social media, and creative support across the department and company. Originally from the United States, Lee graduated from the University of Cincinnati, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Electronic Media. Before joining smartclip, she has worked with various organisations managing social media accounts and assisting in the video and audio production processes.
Lee Richter
Marketing Specialist Europe
