Industry Veteran David Morgan to Lead ADMA's Next Chapter as Advisory Chair

The Association for Data-Driven Marketing and Advertising (ADMA) has appointed David Morgan, a global marketing leader with over 35 years of experience, as the new chair of its Advisory Committee.

Steve Brennen, co-founder and CEO of Archie, steps down after more than a decade as chair, but will remain involved as vice chair, ensuring continuity during the transition.

ADMA CEO Andrea Martens said, “The role of chair is no honorary title -- it helps shape not just ADMA, but the entire industry.

“ADMA is here to help the industry evolve, and we will continue promoting responsible marketing practices.”

David has served on ADMA’s board since 2021 and brings expertise from senior roles at Samsung, Citibank, Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, and Standard Chartered. He is also the founder of MacMorgan, where he has driven business growth, marketing excellence and customer experience transformation for major Australian brands.

Beyond consulting, David is an experienced educator, having trained more than 10,000 marketers worldwide and lectured at international universities. His appointment comes as ADMA accelerates its strategic focus on capability training and prepares the industry for regulatory changes.

“We need to understand [that] marketers can't [improve] by osmosis,” David said.

“They have to have capability development; we owe it to our businesses. We owe it to our marketers to help them understand how to do their jobs better, and we're doing that in an environment where there's much less money and much less focus on training people how to do their jobs. But marketers need a heck of a lot more capabilities now than I needed when I started my career.

“ADMA’s role is clear: scale the Capability Compass. It's built as a funnel to help marketers build their teams better and build their skill sets better, so people can benchmark and identify how to drive marketing teams forward.”

David added, “ADMA must lead on data-driven growth and regulation, from privacy to AI ethics.Our role is to ensure marketing becomes integral to business success.”

CEO Andrea emphasised the association’s role in shaping the industry’s future, noting its purpose to “reimagine and enable the marketing and advertising industry with data at its core.

“This isn’t about keeping up — it’s about setting the pace.”

The association also aims to reinforce marketing’s role as a key growth driver in the broader business community.

David praised Steve’s leadership through challenges, including CEO transitions, the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of AI in marketing.

Steve described David as “the ideal successor: respected, independent-minded, and deeply committed to the industry’s future.”

“With David now at the helm, ADMA is set to build on this momentum,” Steve said.

Under Steve’s leadership, ADMA consulted on reforms to the Privacy Act and launched the Capability Compass, a tool to identify skills gaps in marketing teams. Several leading businesses have adopted the tool, with its first findings due later this year.

Reflecting on his tenure, Steve said, “The marketing industry has changed enormously over the last decade, with every marketer facing unprecedented disruption.”

He highlighted his work guiding the industry through regulatory reforms, digitisation and the pandemic.

A refreshed ADMA Advisory Board will be announced in the coming weeks.