The Ad Council has elected 18 new members to its Board of Directors, chaired by Verizon CMO, Diego Scotti. In addition to the new Board members, the nonprofit elevated Rita Ferro, president, global advertising, Disney, and Kirk McDonald, CEO of North America at GroupM, to the roles of vice chair.
For more than 80 years, the Ad Council has been at the forefront of driving the communications industry’s social impact efforts at scale. Its Board of Directors is comprised of a prestigious group of senior marketing, media and business executives who provide expertise, insights and financial support to ensure the Ad Council’s social impact campaigns are effective and drive measurable change. Working in close collaboration with the Ad Council’s leadership, the Board helps spearhead the communications industry’s efforts to address critical issues such as gun violence, mental health, the drug overdose epidemic, and racial justice.
The new members of the Ad Council Board of Directors are:
- Brad Blum, Chief Operating Officer, WWE
- Christine Cook, Global Chief Revenue Officer, Bloomberg
- Greg Glenday, Chief Business Officer, Acast
- Patrick Harris, President of Americas & Partnerships, Snap
- Michael Komasinski, CEO, dentsu Americas
- Ryanne Laredo, SVP of Customer Experience, Nielsen
- Ryan Linder, EVP & Global Chief Marketing Officer, Stagwell
- Mark Marshall, Chairman, Global Advertising & Partnerships, NBCU
- Johanna Mayer-Jones, Global Chief Advertising Officer, The Washington Post
- Nicola Mendelsohn, Head of Global Business Group, Meta
- Shannon Nunn, Managing Director, TBWAChiatDay NY
- Drew Panayiotou, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Pfizer
- Chris Paquette, Founder & CEO, DeepIntent
- Elliott Pettit, Senior Director of Retention & Brand, USTA
- Joy Robins, Global Chief Advertising Officer, The New York Times
- Lisa Roath, EVP & Chief Marketing Officer, Target
- Andrew Springate, Chief Marketing Officer, Keurig Dr Pepper
- And Neal Zuckerman, Managing Director & Senior Partner, Boston Consulting Group
“The Ad Council’s Board of Directors is comprised of some of the most passionate leaders in their industries and their commitment to driving positive change helps us move the needle on America’s most pressing issues at an unprecedented scale,” said Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council. “I am so honored to welcome our new members and work even closer with Rita and Kirk to create lasting change that will help people across the country.”
The Ad Council also added three new members to its Leadership Council, which consists of some of the best leaders and innovators in media, tech, marketing, and advertising. Leadership Council members leverage their companies’ reach and resources to activate campaigns and share key learnings, insights, and capabilities in support of the Ad Council’s work to address the country’s most critical social issues.
New members of the Ad Council Leadership Council are:
- Michael Benedek, President & CEO, Datonics
- Katie Klumper, CEO & Founder, Black Glass
- And Amanda Tolleson, Global Chief Marketing Officer, WeightWatchers
Supreme Court declines to hear appeal from singer R. Kelly, convicted of child sex crimes
The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal Monday from the singer R. Kelly, who is now serving 20 years in prison after being convicted of child sex convictions in Chicago.
The Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, was found guilty in 2022 of three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex.
His lawyers argued that a shorter statute of limitations on child sex crime prosecutions should have applied to offenses dating back to the 1990s. Current law permits charges while an accuser is still alive.
The justices did not detail their reasoning in declining to hear the case, as is typical. And none publicly dissented. Lower courts previously rejected his arguments.
Federal prosecutors have said the video showed Kelly abusing a girl. The accuser identified only as Jane testified that she was 14 when the video was taken.
Kelly has also appealed a separate 30-year sentence for federal racketeering and sex trafficking convictions in New York.
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