Annette King Appointed New @Ad_Association Chair

Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief

The UK Advertising Association has announced the appointment of Annette King, CEO, Publicis Groupe UK as its new Chair, joining the AA Board and working closely with the AA CEO, Stephen Woodford and AA President, Alessandra Bellini.

Annette will be replacing PHD’s Philippa Brown who has completed a three-year term, which saw the launch of initiatives Ad Net Zero and All In, as well as the industry’s journey through the pandemic and its recovery. King will now pave the way for the association’s focus on talent as well as its work on public trust, inclusion, climate action and key lobbying issues for the industry.

She joins for her own three-year term at a key moment for the Advertising Association as it adds global ambitions to its joint climate initiative with the IPA and ISBA, Ad Net Zero; deals with a series of regulatory issues including the Online Advertising Programme and continues to represent the UK advertising industry at national and international levels, working with Government and members to secure the next decade of advertising’s export growth.

Stephen Woodford, CEO, Advertising Association, told us “Annette is one of the most impressive voices in UK advertising today and we are delighted to welcome her to the AA’s distinguished Board. She brings vast experience and strong work on creating a more inclusive workplace, an area especially relevant to us as we launch the next three actions of the All In Action Plan as well as announce our first wave of All In Champion organisations. Thanks must also go to Philippa Brown for her excellent work steering the industry through the pandemic and its extraordinary recovery. I look forward to working closely with Annette, alongside our President, Alessandra Bellini, the AA Council and Board as we work hard to tackle the challenges faced by our industry, from climate change to the talent crisis.”

Annette became CEO of Publicis Groupe UK back in 2018 and in four years, she has revitalised the company, streamlining the structure, bringing in new capabilities and expertise and accelerating growth. She has introduced flexible-working and a company-wide mental health programme, as well as a series of people-focused initiatives such as a menopause policy, a set of family-friendly policies and disability and trans inclusion policies. Her role as Chair will be to help support the strategic direction and delivery of the association’s work and its wider remit, reporting to its 14-strong Board on behalf of its tri-partite industry membership.

Annette is also on the UK Investment Council, chaired by Lord Grimstone, and on the Evening Standard Recovery Board. She is a mentor for the Marketing Academy, and an active member of Women in Advertising and Communications London, the Marketing Group of Great Britain and The Thirty Club. She lives in London with her husband and two children.


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