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Matthew Greitzer, 30
Director of Search Engine Marketing, NY
Avenue A_Razorfish
At the cusp of the dot-com boom in 1998, Matt Greitzer was raising funds for a Seattle-based nonprofit, going door-to-door and asking for money.
"I was oblivious to the Internet," he says. "I had no intention of getting into the interactive space."
But to escape his soliciting gig, Mr. Greitzer took an entry-level job at tech startup Avenue A as a media trafficker, ensuring the smooth delivery of online ads. In three months, he made his way up the interactive agency's corporate ladder to the post of operations director.
In 2003, Mr. Greitzer moved to New York City, closer to his native Spencer, N.Y. Growing wise to the ways of the Web, he foresaw Google's impact on advertising and convinced his agency to start a marketing business that would help clients use search engines to drive traffic to their Web sites.
"Matt has a very creative and practical mind," says Jim Warner, executive vice president of Avenue A | Razorfish's Eastern region. "He is truly balanced between the left and right brain."
The right side took over in 2004. Mr. Greitzer--who as a child wrote short stories and aspired to be a film director--left Avenue A | Razorfish to satisfy an entrepreneurial itch to start a social networking site. It didn't take off, but the former frat boy gained still more Internet experience. He returned to Avenue A | Razorfish the following year as director of search engine marketing for New York.
Since he rejoined the firm, his team has doubled in size to 25 and garnered more than 20 search marketing campaigns from clients such as Verizon and Schering-Plough. In 2005, Avenue A | Razorfish became the largest buyer of search advertising. It spent $130 million, 31% of the agency's overall billings.