Celebrating 20 Years of Advertising Achievement: 2012 Advertising Hall of Achievement Top Young Advertising Talent of the Industry

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Marking 20 years of celebrating remarkable achievement in the advertising industry, another seven young superstars will be inducted into The Advertising Hall of Achievement.  The Hall has long been the gold standard in recognizing the leading young advertising professionals age 40 and under, and is operated by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the same organization which operates the Advertising Hall of Fame.

The inductees of the 20^th class are: Erin Clift, VP Marketing Solutions, Spotify; Georgina Flores, Director of Marketing, Allstate Insurance Company; Rei Inamoto, Chief Creative Officer, AKQA; Howard Mittman, VP & Publisher, WIRED, Conde Nast; Tor Myhren, President & Chief Creative, Grey New York; Marc Speichert, Chief Marketing Officer, L'Oreal USA; and Lisa Weinstein, President, Global Digital & Search Officer, Starcom MediaVest Group.

Georgina Flores, Director of Marketing, Allstate Insurance Company, will also be presented with the esteemed Jack Avrett Volunteer Spirit Award.  Since 1996, this award has recognized an inductee who has demonstrated an exceptionally high commitment to public service and the betterment of both the advertising industry and the larger community.

Kim Kelleher, President of SAY Media and co-chair of the 2012 Council of Judges, said, "The accomplishments of this year's nominees were astounding and it was a very competitive year. This class of honorees is a wonderful representation the future of advertising across all industries and platforms."

"It is wonderful to celebrate those that are making significant impact in their organizations, the industry and the community," added Council of Judges co-chair Jacki Kelley, Global CEO, UM.

The Advertising Hall of Achievement induction ceremonies and luncheon will be held at Cipriani 42^nd Street, in New York, a location that is ideal to the mission of this program – seeking out the industry pioneers and rising talent of the industry.  The Hall of Achievement includes 136 members with expertise spanning the entire spectrum of the advertising industry including clients, agencies and media. Last year, over 500 top advertising executives attended the event to celebrate the 2011 inductees. 

"The Council of Judges has elected an amazing class of industry leaders befitting this 20th Anniversary Year of the Hall," said James Edmund Datri, president & CEO of the AAF.

Event tickets and sponsorship packages are available.  For detailed information, please contact Lisa Rubin, VP, Events and Corporate Services, at 1-800-999-2231 or via email at [email protected]. For more information on the 20^th Anniversary of the Advertising Hall of Achievement, go to http://www.aaf.org/ahoa.

2012 Advertising Hall of Achievement Council of Judges

CO-CHAIRS
Kim Kelleher,*+ President, SAY Media
Jacki Kelley,*+ Global CEO, UM

COUNCIL OF JUDGES
Allison Arden,* Vice President, Publisher, Advertising Age
Danielle Austen,+ Managing Partner, CEO, Team Ignition Pancultural Marketing LLC
Tom Bedecarre, Chairman, AKQA
Ray Chelstowski, Senior Vice President, National Sales, Digital First Media
Lisa Cochrane, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Allstate Insurance Company
Lynne Collins, Vice President and Director-Communications, Saatchi & Saatchi
Vida Cornelious, Chief Creative Officer, GlobalHue
Jason Dailey, Director of Bing Evangelism, Microsoft
Laura Desmond,*+ Global CEO, Starcom MediaVest Worldwide
Beth-Ann Eason,*+ Senior Vice President/GM, Epicurious, Gourmet Live, Brides.com, Conde Nast
Sean Finnegan,* Chief Strategy Officer, Akoo
Jim Friedlich,+ President, Empirical Media Advisors
Wenda Harris Millard,* President and Chief Operating Officer, MediaLink LLC
James R. Heekin III, Chairman and CEO, Grey Group
Julia Huang,+ CEO, interTrend
Michael Kassan,+ Chairman and CEO, MediaLink LLC
Chris Kempczinski,* Senior Vice President, U.S. Grocery Division, Kraft Foods
Jeff Levick,* Chief Advertising Officer, Spotify
Rob Master,*+ Vice President, Global Media, Unilever
Pawan J. Mehra,+ Principal and Co-founder, Ameredia
Andrew Messina,+ Senior Vice President, Network Sales, ABC
David Messinger,+ Co-head, CAA Marketing, Creative Artists Agency
John Osborn,* President and CEO, BBDO New York
Jonathan Perelman,+ Director, Global Industry Relations, Google Inc.
Rich Stoddart,* President, Leo Burnett North America
Linda Thomas Brooks,*+ President, Ingenuity Media, The Martin Agency
Steve Stoute,* Founder and CEO, Translation Marketing
Greg Walsh, Chief Financial Officer, Mediabrands Worldwide
Lauren Wiener,* Senior Vice President, Meredith Women's Network

*Advertising Hall of Achievement member
+ Executive Committee member

The American Advertising Federation (AAF), the nation's oldest national advertising trade association, and the only association representing all facets of the advertising industry, is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and acts as the "Unifying Voice for Advertising."  The AAF also has 15 district operations, each located in and representing a different region of the nation.  The AAF's membership is comprised of nearly 100 blue chip corporate members comprising the nation's leading advertisers, advertising agencies, and media companies; a national network of 200 local federations, representing 40,000 advertising professionals, located in ad communities across the country; and 220 AAF college chapters, with over 6,000 student members.  The AAF operates a host of programs and initiatives including the Advertising Hall of Fame, the ADDY® Awards, the National Student Advertising Competition, and the Mosaic Center on Multiculturalism.  For more information on the full range of AAF programming, visit the AAF's website at www.aaf.org.

SOURCE Allstate Insurance Company