Anthony Citrano
Founder of Acquicent
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
Overview
Work Experience
Founder & CEO
2021 - 2025
Acquicent built a SaaS trading marketplace to enable individuals to invest in and trade shares of museum-grade collectibles. This unique FinTech platform provided an SEC-compliant path for professional collectors, museums, and cultural institutions to tap new sources of liquidity and engagement. We built a beautiful software product on a limited budget (having raised less than $2M) and a pipeline of collectible assets valued at more than $100M. Our traction was due in no small part to the company's stellar brand positioning - Acquicent was an earned media triumph, landing the kind of press attention most startups can only dream of. We were featured in the Economist, Forbes, WSJ, Bloomberg, KTLA, Fox Business, and many more.
Acquicent is a financial technology company that operates a marketplace for shares of museum-grade, collectible treasure assets.
Raised $1,010,000.00 from Clark Landry, Kelly Perdew, Fortified Ventures, Emerging Ventures, Jeroen Bertrams, Leon Capital Group LLC, James Borow, Moonshots Capital, DVC and Stephano Kim.
Principal | Chief Communications Officer
2018 - 2021
Consulted for a variety of organizations from startups to publicly-traded companies on communications, marketing, corporate strategy, fundraising, strategic partnerships, and public affairs. Roles varied from fractional CMO to board advisor.
Vice President | Head of Communications | Chief Evangelist
2013 - 2017
Following Verizon’s acquisition of EdgeCast, I led strategic communications for the business unit and evangelized Verizon’s digital initiatives (via communications, speaking opportunities, and other outreach) to sectors including cloud, SaaS, enterprise, e-commerce, and beauty & fashion. The triangulation brand marketing strategy continued here, because even though Verizon is one of the best-known brands, we had a lot of work to do in educating companies on what we had to offer digitally. We were well-known for wireless but far less known for digital media services. Ironically, this was especially true within Fortune 500 organizations. Our multi-point approach meant evangelizing to top executives and influencers with a business message while simultaneously fostering technical champions within the target organizations.
Verizon is a broadband and telecommunications company that provides information and entertainment services.
Raised $32,103,192,466.00 from U.S. Department of Defense, Connect Maryland, NYSERDA and NYSERDA.
Vice President | Head of Communications and Marketing
2007 - 2013
I joined EdgeCast when it was in stealth mode and helped launch the company as a new challenger in the content delivery / intelligent cloud business. My responsibilities spanned the entire marketing and communications gamut. During those years, I built and managed the company’s marketing and communications organization and helped establish the company as the top contender in an increasingly crowded market. In a few short years, we went from a complete unknown to carrying almost 10% of the world's Internet traffic, and playing a key role in scaling some of the world's busiest web sites (including Pinterest, Soundcloud, Tumblr, and Twitter) and many top global brands (including Disney, Mercedes-Benz, and Kellogg) who were making large digital investments. From a branding perspective, we accomplished this using a triangulated strategy, evangelizing ourselves via high-level branding to the C-suite, while marketing ourselves to the IT audience with focused, technically informative messaging that set us apart from the big guys (e.g. Akamai and later, Amazon's Cloudfront) while helping us create internal champions. Finally, I was deeply involved in the M&A process with Verizon from our early strategic conversations through integration.
Founding Partner
2001 - 2006
Co-founded and helped build one of the nation's top boutique technology PR firms. We built and executed strategic communications plans for companies ranging from cryptography startups to consumer software giants. Our clients included Brightcove, Corel, Demandware, Ember, SPSS, and Top Layer Networks.
fama PR is a boutique PR firm for technology companies in North America.
EVP | Chief Communications Officer
2000 - 2001
Digital entertainment company R3Media, Inc. (a CMGI company) acquired BrainPaste.com in March 2000. As a result of the acquisition, I became their Chief Communications Officer. Responsibilities included external and internal communications including media relations, analyst relations, events, and speaking opportunities. CMGI is now SteelConnect (NASDAQ: STCN).
Founder
1998 - 2000
Co-founded the company that invented retargeting (we used to call it "dynamic customer acquisition"). We created a browser plug-in that learned about users over time, helped them discover new and interesting content, and saved them money - all while protecting their privacy. (We did this about twenty years too early — see PayPal's Honey.) The company was featured broadly in national and international media including USA Today, Wall Street Journal, WIRED, and more. Acquired by R3Media, a CMGI company.
Senior Advisor to the Governor | Chief Technologist
1995 - 1998
Served as chief technology advisor to Governor Angus King [now US Senator], helping Maine set an early example of responsive online government. Worked closely with Governor, chief of staff, legislative leaders, and cabinet officials to radically modernize state government operations. Acted as Governor’s chief media spokesperson for technology issues. Served as Governor’s delegate to many technology and commerce groups. Appointed by the Governor to: National Governor’s Association Technology Subcommittee; Information Services Policy Board; Highway One Advisory Board. Bonus: named an "Honorary Son of Maine" by Governor King — a permanent title of nobility, from what I understand. 🤣
InforME is the Internet gateway for businesses and citizens to interact with the government electronically company.
Founder
1993 - 1994
Published The Virtual Journal, the world's first web magazine. Secured major advertisers (including Hayes and Mitsubishi) for an entirely new medium.
Advance Coordinator
1993 - 1994
Following my work as State Student Coordinator for the Bill Clinton for President campaign, I helped manage advance work for events in New England. My responsibilities included site selection and review, venue preparation, coordination with the EOP, the US Secret Service, and other staff. I even got to drive in a Presidential motorcade (OMG FUN!).
Council on Environmental Quality works in the development of environmental policies.