The AD Club Of New York Elects Six New Directors To Board

NEW YORK, July 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The ADVERTISING Club of New York, the industry's leading professional organization representing the vision and mission of the global advertising community across crafts, welcomed six new members to the Board of Directors at its 118^thAnnual Meeting of the Members.

The event took place at New York's New Museum, where Board Chair Laurel Rossi, President of Havas Worldwide Strat Farm and AD Club President & CEO Gina Grillo honored new and retiring Board members, and recognized the recipients of the President's Awards, the Club Key Award and the Rising Star Award.

The six new Board members include: Brad Elders, SVP, East Coast Sales, AOL; Mark Ellis, VP, North American Sales, Yahoo; Eliza Esquivel, VP, Global Brand Strategy, Mondelez; Scott Falzone, Industry Director/Retail, Google; David Lawenda, VP, Global Sales, Facebook; Olivia Farr, SVP, Senior Account Director, BBDO. This year's Board will work together with a major focus on accelerating i'mPART, an initiative to raise awareness of the benefits of diversity in business and rally professionals around a shared movement. The acronym represents the pillars of the initiative – to Promote, Attract, Retail and Train multicultural talent.

"Our prestigious Board, including our newest members, reflect the club's commitment to promoting bravery in our business. Their leadership in creativity, diversity of thought, and the business innovations to their credit are fantastic. They represent an amazing cross section of companies changing the face of marketing.  Each and every board member wants to make a difference and is committed to supporting our mission to propel the industry forward,"  Laurel Rossi, Chairman of The ADVERTISING Club of New York and President of Havas Worldwide Strat Farm. 

The 2014 Director inductees include: Laurel Rossi, President, Havas Worldwide Strat Farm (Chairman of the Board); Carl Fremont, Global, Chief Digital Officer, MEC Global (SVP); Rick Song, Global Head of Media Solutions Sales, Zefr (VP); Brad Jakeman, President, Global Beverage Group, Pepsico (VP); Mari Kim Novak, SVP/Global Advertising Solutions, Rubicon Project (Treasurer); Beth-Ann Eason, SVP/Digital Development, Conde Nast and GM, ZipList (Chairman Emeritus); Joanne Davis, President, Joanne Davis Consulting; Marie Devlin, SVP, Advertising, Media & Sponsorships, American Express; Michael Duda, CEO, Johannes Leonardo; Lori Erdos, Publisher, Smithsonian Media; Wright Ferguson Jr., President, AdForum USA; Ronald Fierman, President, Digital Pulp; Heide Gardner, SVP/Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Interpublic Group; Deleela Jones, Director Client Services, USA Today; Rob Master, VP Media, Americas, Unilever; Ian Parmiter, SVP, Integrated Ad Sales Marketing, Discovery Networks; Audrey Siegel, Managing Partner, Assembly; Connie Garrido; Kris Magel, Chief Investment Officer, Initiative; Lee Nadler, Marketing Communications Manager, MINI USA; Darryl Nicholson, VP, North America Marketing, Johnson & Johnson; Donna Speciale, President, Turner Entertainment; and Diana Zaccardi-Yekta, Vice President, Verizon Wireless.

The AD Club also recognized the recipients of the 2014 President's Award, which is granted to individuals who have demonstrated an outstanding volunteerism and commitment to the Club.  This year's recipients include: Carly Bennett, Communications Manager, Droga5; Marie Devlin, SVP, Global Advertising, Media, and Sponsorships, American Express; Jordan Edelstein, Media Planner, Digitas LBI; Sue Geramian, SVP, Global Brand Communications, MRM; Lesley Klein, Vice President, MediaLink; Kris Magel, Chief Investment Officer, Initiative; Kristin Ogdon, Senior Marketing Manager, Microsoft; Jessica Peltz, VP, Business Development, Evol8tion, LLC; Chris Peterson, Producer/Director of Sales/Business Development/Marketing, Postfactory NY; Diana Zaccardi, VP, Verizon.

In addition, Rick Song, Global Head of Media Solutions Sales, ZEFR, was presented with the Club Key Award for outstanding volunteer service; and Emily Goldman, Manager of Content Operations, Vimeo, was presented with the 2014 Rising Star Award.

"Our members' dedication to our mission is an integral part of our ability to unite professionals around a shared experience and exchange ideas for best practices in the industry," added Grillo. "Each of this year's award recipients represents the integrity and passion that strengthens our industry year after year, and we are proud to recognize them for the important role they play." 

The AD Club will pay tribute to the dedication and service of the following retiring Board members: Jerry Canning, Industry Director/Financial Services, Google; Tina Davis, Director of Marketing & Sponsorship, Citibank; Kirsten Flanik, Managing Director, BBDO; Fabio Freyre, VP, Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook; Greg McCastle; and Marty St. George, SVP, Marketing & Commercial Strategy, JetBlue.

About The ADVERTISING Club of New York:
The ADVERTISING Club of New York is the advertising industry's leading organization, providing members access to a network of thought leaders, the fuel for creativity, greater diversity, and the best training for professional development. The AD Club represents the vision and mission of a vibrant international advertising community across crafts, uniting professionals around a shared experience and passion in the name of exchanging ideas and best practices for business. The AD Club is the facilitating sponsor of the International ANDY Awards, (www.andyawards.com), celebrating its 50^th year of recognizing outstanding creative achievement in advertising in 2014. www.theadvertisingclub.org.

SOURCE The ADVERTISING Club of New York