The Ad Council Appoints 21 New Members to Board of Directors

The Ad Council, America's leader in using the power of communications to drive social change, elected 21 new members to its board of directors during its spring meeting held yesterday with both virtual and in-person elements. The non-profit organisation's Board is chaired by Linda Yaccarino, chairman, global advertising and partnerships, NBCUniversal. Vice chairs include Jacki Kelley, CEO, Americas, dentsu, and Diego Scotti, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Verizon.

Throughout the organisation's 80-year history, the Ad Council has been at the forefront of driving the communications industry's social impact efforts. Its board of directors is comprised of an esteemed group of senior marketing and media executives whose talent, insights and financial support ensure that the Ad Council's social good campaigns are effective and impactful. Most recently, the Ad Council's board of directors led the industry's response to covid-19 and the launch of the Ad Council and covid Collaborative's covid-19 Vaccine Education Initiative, the most significant public education effort in US history.

New members of the Ad Council board of directors include:

• Jonathan Adashek, chief communications officer and senior vice president, marketing and communications, IBM
• Michele Barlow, brand strategy, creative, content and media executive, Bank of America
• Vanessa A. Broadhurst, executive vice president, global corporate affairs, Johnson & Johnson
• Alex Collmer, chief executive officer, Vidmob
• Tina Davis, global chief marketing officer, Citi
• Rachel Ferdinando, senior vice president & chief marketing officer, PepsiCo Frito Lay North America
• Jim Habig, vice president, marketing, LinkedIn
• Gail Heimann, chief executive officer, Weber Shandwick
• Lisa Ryan Howard, global head of advertising and marketing solutions, The New York Times
• Kellyn Kenny, chief marketing and growth officer, AT&T Communications
• Sarah Kramer, chief executive officer, Spark Foundry
• Tammy Levine, head of brand management & sponsorships, Wells Fargo
• Doug Martin, chief brand and disruptive growth officer, General Mills
• Stacy Martinet, vice president, marketing & communications, Adobe
• Ryan Mayward, vice president, Ad Sales, Instacart
• Richard Parkinson, chief brand officer, Prudential Financial
• Mary Ann Reilly, senior vice president, head of North America marketing, Visa
• Karin Timpone, executive vice president, chief marketing officer, Major League Baseball
• Kerry Tucker, chief marketing and franchise officer, pocket.watch
• Bill Watkins, chief revenue officer, Pinterest
• William White, chief marketing officer, Walmart

"Our Board is an invaluable driving force behind the Ad Council's capacity to create positive change on our country's most pressing issues," said Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council. "We are excited to welcome these new leaders and work together to leverage their innovation, expertise and resources as we continue to mobilise our industry around purpose-driven work."

The Ad Council also added a new member to its Leadership Council, Chris Kelly, CEO of Upwave. The Leadership Council consists of executives across media, tech, marketing and advertising who identify ways their companies can activate campaigns and share key learnings, insights, and capabilities in support the Ad Council's work and the country's most critical social issues.

A complete list of the Ad Council Board of Directors and Leadership Council is available on the organisation's website.