Industry experts position company to combat brand abuse with AI for unprecedented speed, efficiency and accuracy in preserving enterprise brand equity, loyalty and customer trust

Tracer, the AI leader in online brand protection, today announced five senior executive appointments: Alan Spencer as Global Chief Technology Officer, Will Fleury as Vice President of Software Engineering, Mike Monzon as Global Senior Vice President of Marketing, Judi Archbold as Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs and Taryn Grinsteiner as Global Vice President of Human Resources. The leadership team’s extensive experience in brand protection and AI is expected to accelerate Tracer’s growth and innovation in swiftly and precisely identifying instances of brand misuse across the digital landscape. Tracer’s flagship product, Tracer Protect, is built upon a first-of-its-kind SaaS platform that uses Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) AI — AI with human verification — to continuously trace, analyze and mitigate brand misuse across all corners of the internet with one of the broadest and deepest digital coverage areas of social media, websites, domains, online marketplaces, mobile app stores, paid ads and beyond.

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Alan Spencer, Will Fleury, Mike Monzon, Judi Archbold, Taryn Grinsteiner (Photo: Business Wire)

“Brand protection technology is in high demand as bad actors continue to use paid search, social media advertising, GenAI, disinformation, impersonation and social engineering to target businesses and their consumers. We are seeing a shift in the industry where the decades-long tradition of relying on heavy legal and paralegal professionals is no longer sustainable. Businesses need a solution that offers sophisticated AI and other advanced technology supported by a smaller number of specialized industry experts,” said Rick Farnell, CEO of Tracer. “These new appointments elevate a broad combination of seasoned pros with brand risk protection and AI backgrounds to help Tracer address the exploding need for superior external cybersecurity and digital risk protection.”

Alan Spencer Appointed Global Chief Technology Officer

In his role as Global CTO, Alan Spencer will collaborate with Tracer’s leadership team to shape the company’s technology strategy and deepen the market’s understanding of how Tracer delivers its portfolio of patented products and services with AI. Before joining Tracer, Spencer had a successful 25-year career with technology pioneers including MongoDB, C-Bridge Internet Solutions, MobileAware, LeCalya Technologies, Think Big Analytics, Teradata Corporation and Protegrity, as well as enterprises like Dun & Bradstreet and Misys.

“With its advanced AI platform, fine-tuned by deeply experienced industry experts, Tracer has raised the bar significantly for brand owners struggling with traditional brand protection methods,” said Alan Spencer, Global Chief Technology Officer. “By integrating expert judgment at critical decision points, including before enforcement actions are taken, the platform’s AI and machine learning models are constantly refined and tuned for optimal results. I’m eager to further our customers’ trust in Tracer and substantially improve their business outcomes with use of our platform.”

Will Fleury Appointed VP of Software Engineering

Will Fleury brings experience to Tracer from a variety of strategic roles he has held across engineering, data science, product and consulting. With a PhD in Decision Theory, Fleury has been building products and teams in the AI space for many years. He was also responsible for successfully bringing ModelOps to Teradata’s product portfolio. In this new role he will ensure that Tracer’s platform and engineering culture continue to support customer outcomes while accelerating product innovation.

“I believe that demand in the brand protection space is going to surge in the coming years. Bad actors are evolving, and so is the industry that fights back against them,” said Will Fleury, VP of Engineering. “Protecting brands at scale via our Human-in-the-Loop AI and other emerging technologies is the future. I look forward to leading this amazing team to solve the difficult brand protection challenges that lie ahead.”

Mike Monzon Joins as Global Senior Vice President of Marketing

With a track record of leveraging innovative technologies to propel businesses forward, Mike Monzon joins the Tracer team as Global SVP of Marketing. In this role, he will oversee Tracer’s global marketing engine, including product, partner, customer and content marketing, demand gen, sales enablement and corporate communications. Monzon brings two decades of experience in the B2B enterprise space, over fifteen years of product marketing, and vast involvement in the cybersecurity, fraud and brand protection industries while incubating and launching new global products and solutions.

“Tracer impressed me right off the bat with its trailblazing AI technology that is already leaps and bounds ahead of competitors. Other offerings in the space are masquerading as AI-powered, when in reality they are simply service companies that are slow and require significant manual effort,” said Mike Monzon, Global Senior Vice President of Marketing. “Tracer’s approach is designed for unparalleled efficiency and accuracy. I’m thrilled to share with the world how Tracer has raised the bar and delivers the undisputed new standard for brand resilience.”

Judi Archbold Appointed Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs

Judi Archbold brings to Tracer more than 30 years of experience as a seasoned corporate lawyer, having spent her career advising California and Idaho-based public and private companies on a broad spectrum of legal issues. This background includes managing public offerings and venture capital financings, leading corporate acquisitions, negotiating global technology commercial contracts and successfully guiding management teams on countless matters of corporate governance. In her role at Tracer, Archbold is responsible for all aspects of the company's legal affairs, including global customer contracting and partner relationships, privacy protections and other operational best practices controls, corporate governance, supporting customer litigation-related requests and protecting the company's intellectual property portfolio.

“I’m no stranger to brand protection, having served as Corporate Counsel in the space for nine years before joining Tracer,” said Judi Archbold, Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs. “That experience has given me a deep understanding of the unique business issues and risks present in this industry. I'm excited to collaborate and contribute to the success of Tracer’s Management, Finance, Engineering, Product, Marketing, HR and Customer Success teams.”

Taryn Grinsteiner Appointed Global Vice President of Human Resources

Taryn has nearly twenty years of HR experience, most recently at PKG User Interface Solutions, and has a passion for cultivating a culture in which employees can thrive and bring their authentic selves to work. She has deep knowledge of the HR space and believes in harnessing sincerity, empathy and conviction.

“My goal is to create and foster a positive and inclusive work environment that supports the growth and success of Tracer’s employees and business goals,” said Taryn Grinsteiner, Global Vice President of Human Resources. “I am passionate about people and building organizational culture. I’m looking forward to implementing innovative and effective HR strategies and programs that enhance employee engagement, recognition and retention.”

To learn more, visit the Tracer website or build your customized Tracer Analysis and brand misuse report.

Additional Resources

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About Tracer

Tracer is revolutionizing the brand protection industry with its advanced AI technology, setting new standards in detecting, reviewing, and removing brand abuse with unmatched accuracy, speed and scale. By integrating over a decade’s worth of brand data with dynamically tuned AI and the deep expertise of industry professionals, Tracer has become the chosen solution provider protecting some of the world’s most valuable brands, helping to preserve their intellectual property and brand integrity to amplify customer trust, loyalty and satisfaction. Tracer offers a comprehensive suite of solutions to address a wide array of brand abuses, such as cybersquatting, fraud, phishing, impersonation and counterfeiting, ensuring intellectual property and business interests are protected across the digital universe.

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