21: GUEST - Tobias Dengel, WillowTree (TELUS Digital)

Today’s guest speaker is Tobias Dengel, author of The Sound of the Future: The Coming Age of Voice Technology*, published by Hachette Books, and a Wall Street Journal bestseller. Tobias is the co-founder of WillowTree which was acquired by TELUS Digital in 2023 for $1.2B. He now serves as President of TELUS Digital Solutions which designs digital experiences, builds mobile apps, websites, and personalized marketing campaigns using the latest conversational AI, machine learning, and voice technology. TELUS Digital’s client roster spans industries and the Fortune 500, including Google, Meta, airbnb, Capital One, T-Mobile, Epic Games, Marriott, Wyndham, Allianz, Dexcom, PepsiCo, FOX Sports, Synchrony, Domino’s, CIGNA, and Manulife. Tobias co-founded WillowTree in 2008, and at the time it was acquired in 2023 the company grew to 1,000+ strategists, designers, engineers, and data scientists across 13 global studios. TELUS Digital Solutions has over 5,000 team members globally and Tobias is responsible for charting the company’s business course and overseeing all principal functions of the business unit.*

Previously, Tobias co-founded Leads.com. As President of the company, he managed its rapid expansion as an early pioneer in packaging online search products, including Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and AOL, for sale to small businesses. After growing to over 60 employees in two years, Leads.com was acquired by Web.com, where Tobias worked in an executive role until 2009.

Prior to starting Leads.com, he was Senior Vice President & General Manager of AOL Local & Yellow Pages. He previously held a variety of roles in the AOL Business Affairs department, including Vice President, International. Tobias began his career as an Analyst at the management consulting firm AT Kearney. He earned a BSE (Finance) from Wharton and a BSE in Systems Engineering, both from the University of Pennsylvania.

Tobias lives in Charlottesville, VA with his wife and four children, as well as dogs, chickens, pigs and goats at his farm.

• Explore the WillowTree’s website at www.willowtreeapps.com and www.telusdigital.com as well as online news sources related to WillowTree and TELUS Digital.
• Explore summaries of the book Sound of the Future (or read it if interested -- available at Penn Book Store).

Based on the websites, news, articles, reviews and knowledge you have gained in EAS545 this semester, and additional related research you may conduct, write up a list of 5 substantive questions you would want to ask Tobias during the Q&A session following his talk.

Submit your list of questions prior to the beginning of class via Canvas. Grading for today’s class will be based on the quality, not quantity, of your questions and the evident level of effort behind them, and on your class participation. Remember to bring a second copy of your questions for your own reference during the Q&A session. Out of courtesy to our speaker, please be on time so we can start the class promptly at 10:15AM.