MetaRouter Names Nikhil Raj, Former Walmart Executive and Bain Partner, as CEO

Seasoned retail media and data leader to drive MetaRouter’s next phase of growth with AI-ready, privacy-first data infrastructure for global enterprises.

MetaRouter Names Nikhil Raj, Former Walmart Executive and Bain Partner, as CEO

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September 8, 2025 – Denver, CO – MetaRouter, the leader in enterprise-grade customer data infrastructure, today announced that Nikhil Raj, current President of MetaRouter, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. The transition signifies an important step for the company as it enters its next phase of growth, focusing on helping companies navigate AI transformation through robust data infrastructure.

Enterprises face tremendous pressure to use consumer data in a privacy-safe and consented approach for marketing and AI use cases. However, it is neither easy nor affordable for companies to build the infrastructure and process to do so. MetaRouter enables enterprises to create privacy-safe, consent-enforced data to, within their private cloud, to drive marketing and growth. Retailers and other consumer businesses are launching media businesses that need consented user data in real time which MetaRouter provides. Marketing teams use MetaRouter to drive growth while exercising complete data control across AI labs & media platforms.

As he steps into this role, Nikhil brings over two decades of experience in retail media, data and consumer technology underpinned by machine learning. He co-founded Walmart’s ads business, WMX (now Walmart Connect) by solving problems around consumer data, privacy and compliance in advertising. He launched and led the global retail media practice at Bain, and also advised several large global PE funds on adtech acquisitions. At Moloco, he helped transform their commerce media business from the leader in Korea to a global operation serving customers across North America, APAC and Europe. He brings these experiences to MetaRouter to help customers turn their first-party data into a true competitive advantage.

With three of the top 10 U.S. retailers already relying on MetaRouter, the company is expanding into other consumer verticals like CPG, financial services, travel and hospitality. Nikhil’s priorities as CEO will center on expanding MetaRouter’s data infrastructure capabilities into the AI world, and enabling enterprises to leverage real-time data for personalization, marketing and media.

“Tim has built an incredible culture & team that has established trust with the largest enterprise customers," said Nikhil Raj, CEO of MetaRouter. "MetaRouter has enabled several Fortune 100 enterprises to take control of their customer data. It is an absolute honor and privilege to have the opportunity to partner with Tim and the rest of the team to take MetaRouter to the next level.”

“When considering how to maximize our probability of success as we scale, Nikhil stepping into this role was the answer," said Tim Brunk, co-founder of MetaRouter. "What’s powerful is how Nikhil’s journey is MetaRouter — his time at Walmart, Bain, and Moloco has shaped the very approach we take to building secure data infrastructure. His background is woven into everything we do, creating a clear vision for how we help enterprises make the most of their data.”

Brunk, the former CEO who co-founded MetaRouter alongside Greg Brunk, Andrew Murray, Michael Yeager and Roxana Cristea, will remain engaged with the company in a founder role. Over the past two decades, Tim has launched multiple tech ventures, from building data-driven tools for fashion and analytics at Cladwell and Astronomer to creating startup accelerator programs at Ocean. This experience gives him a unique perspective on growth and operations, which he will now channel into broader advocacy in the market and relationship building at MetaRouter, while Nikhil leads the company into its next phase. 

For more information, visit www.metarouter.io.

About MetaRouter
MetaRouter is a leading customer data infrastructure platform built to enhance data quality, compliance, and performance for enterprise organizations. With a focus on privacy-first server-side technology, MetaRouter enables businesses to route and activate customer data securely and efficiently.

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