Debra L. Lee, chairman & CEO of BET Networks, has been elected to serve a one-year term as the new chair of the Ad Council’s board of directors. The nonprofit Ad Council is the United States’ largest producer of public service advertising
Ms. Lee joined the Ad Council Board in February 2008. She became vice chair of media and joined the executive and nominating committees in July 2011. She succeeds Marc Pritchard, global brand building officer of Procter & Gamble (P&G), as Ad Council board chair.
Media outlets donate approximately $1.5 billion in time and space to Ad Council PSA campaigns annually. The Ad Council’s current partnerships with BET include two campaigns targeting young adults (ages 18 – 24): GED achievement and unplanned pregnancy prevention. Since 2007, BET’s parent company, Viacom, has supported the Ad Council with more than $40 billion in donated media.
“The Ad Council does such important work across so many critical issues, and I have been proud to work with them over the past four years. I am so honored to be elected as the new chair of the Ad Council board of directors and look forward to continuing the Council’s legacy of creative, ground breaking and impactful work,” said Lee.
As chairman and CEO of BET Networks, Lee is one of the highest ranking leaders at Viacom Inc. Prior to her appointment as CEO of BET, Lee served as the network’s executive VP of strategic business development and played a key role in taking BET public in 1991. In 2003, Lee received the Distinguished Vanguard Award for Leadership from the National Cable Television Association. She was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 2010.
With Lee’s election, the Ad Council will continue its ongoing tradition of rotating board chairs every year between the organization’s founding sectors: media companies, advertising agencies and corporate advertisers. In 2014, Lee will be succeeded by Laura Desmond, global CEO, Starcom MediaVest Group, who currently serves as vice chair of agencies.
David Christopher, CMO, AT&T Mobility, has been elected to serve as the Ad Council’s vice chair of advertising, and Steve Lacy, chairman and CEO of Meredith Corporation, has assumed the position of finance committee chair.
Additionally, the Ad Council has elected 24 new Board members, each of whom will serve a three-year term. Among those they will work closely with is Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Ad Council.
The Ad Council’s new Board members are:
* Joseph Abruzzese, president, advertising sales, Discovery Communications
* Maryam Banikarim, SVP & CMO, Gannett Co., Inc.
* Dermot Boden, chief brand officer, Citigroup, Inc.
* Linda Boff, global executive director, digital, advertising & design, GE
* Monique Bonner, VP, Americas Marketing, Dell Inc.
* Lee Brown, head of global sales, Tumblr
* Toby Byrne, president, advertising sales, Fox Broadcasting Company
* Paul Chibe, VP, U.S. marketing, Anheuser-Busch
* Harris Diamond, chairman & CEO, McCann Worldgroup
* Paul Edwards, executive director, global marketing strategy, General Motors
* Michele Fabrizi, president & CEO, MARC USA
* Rob Frederick, VP & director, corporate responsibility, Brown-Forman
* Betsy Frost Webb, general manager, media and agency, management, Microsoft
* Todd Goldstein, chief revenue officer, AEG
* Julie Hamp, chief communications officer, Toyota Motor North America
* Tim Jones, CEO, Zenith Optimedia NA
* Michael Kassan, chairman & CEO, MediaLink
* Lesya Lysyj, CMO, Heineken USA
* Tom Noland, SVP, corporate communications, Humana, Inc.
* Steve Pacheco, director, advertising, FedEx
* Jo Ann Ross, president, network sales, CBS Television Network
* Michael Senackerib, CMO, Campbell Soup Company
* Paul Sturman, president & general manager, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare
* Deborah Van Valkenburgh, SVP, strategic brand management, PNC Financial Services
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More