Simon Michaelides Appointed to Director General of ISBA

​ISBA has named the interim chief customer officer of Great British Racing, Simon Michaelides has been appointed as the next director general of ISBA, taking over from Phil Smith who has led the organisation for the last eight years and has stepped down to become chairman of Origin, the UK cross media measurement platform.

Simon is a P&G and PepsiCo trained marketer with 27 years of commercial business experience. Simon is known for being a change-agent, specialising in transformation briefs, with deep expertise in building and evolving brands, organisational capability, and new products and services; with a relentless focus on marketing excellence.

He spent 12 years in a variety of C-Suite roles, including chief commercial officer at UKTV (a BBC Studios company), chief marketing and innovation officer at BBC Studios UK, and chief customer and strategy officer at Riviera Travel.

Simon served as an ISBA Council Member from 2020 to 2023.

Simon is a fellow of both The Marketing Society and The Marketing Academy and has twice been named by Marketing Week as one of the UK’s Top 100 Most Effective Marketers. He is also a Trustee of Brooklands Museum - the original home of British aviation and motorsport.

As director general of ISBA Simon will be responsible for setting the strategic direction of the organisation and driving its mission to support and promote the interests of its members.

Commenting on his appointment Simon said, “It's an absolute honour to have the opportunity to lead such a prestigious organisation, and to represent and give-back to an industry that I love. Phil is an incredibly tough act to follow, but I look forward to working with the ISBA Team, the Council and the Members, to ensure that ISBA remains as relevant and impactful going forward, as it has been over the last 125 years!"

Commenting on Simon’s appointment, outgoing director general, Phil Smith said, “I’m thrilled that Simon has decided to be ISBA’s next Director General. He is eminently qualified and will bring fresh eyes and new energy to take ISBA forward for the benefit of its members. In my new role as Chair of Origin, I’m also looking forward to working with Simon to deliver our members’ cross-media measurement agenda together”.

ISBA president Pete Markey, former CMO of Boots UK said, “I am delighted that Simon will be leading ISBA as the next Director General. He has a wealth of experience across a range of sectors and an impressive track record of driving businesses forward. He is passionate about the marketing industry making him exactly the right person to lead ISBA as it continues to represent the voice of advertisers. I am really looking forward to working with Simon and am sure ISBA’s future is in very safe hands” Simon will begin his new role later this year.