Laura Schenkein
Former Chief Financial Officer, The Trade Desk at the trade desk
Laura Schenkein served as chief financial officer of The Trade Desk from June 2023 until stepping down in August 2025, after more than a decade in finance leadership roles at the ad-tech company. She remained as a non-executive officer through year-end 2025 to assist the transition to her successor, Alex Kayyal.
Schenkein’s CFO tenure spanned a critical inflection at The Trade Desk: the rollout of the Kokai ad-buying platform, the company’s S&P 500 inclusion, and the August 2025 quarter that triggered a sharp share-price decline alongside her departure announcement. She joined the company in 2014 when it was a private startup and rose through four FP&A title rungs before succeeding Blake Grayson as CFO. Her successor, Alex Kayyal, joined The Trade Desk’s board in February 2025 from Lightspeed Venture Partners and stepped into the CFO seat the same month her exit was announced.