Kimmel appointed CEO at US DMA
The US Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has appointed Lawrence M. Kimmel as its new CEO. Kimmel is the former chairman and CEO of Grey Direct Global Network, where he was responsible for up to 49 offices in 42 countries. He will begin on August 2 and be based in DMA’s New York headquarters.
The search for the new CEO is believed to have been the most extensive in DMA’s 93-year history; conducted over a six-month period with Kimmel as the overwhelming choice of DMA’s Board of Directors.
“DMA is enormously pleased that Larry Kimmel has agreed to serve as our next CEO,” said DMA Board chairman Steven Dapper. “Larry brought Grey Direct record-breaking results virtually every year he led the firm, successfully serving many of the world’s leading companies. He will bring to DMA an extraordinary depth of global experience, a strong management capability, and powerful insights into the evolving and exhilarating direct and digital marketplaces. We look forward to his leadership and strategic guidance to our staff, the Board, and our vast membership.
“DMA today represents companies from dozens of vertical industries in the US and 48 other nations, including nearly half of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as nonprofit organisations,” continued Dapper.
Kimmel said, “This is an exciting time to be in marketing, yet it is also a period that demands far more innovation, collaboration and education. As such, it will be rewarding to ensure that DMA members get every competitive advantage, and that the broader marketing community and consumers are well served by the critical activities of DMA’s Government Affairs group in Washington, DC.”
Kimmel added, “Now that virtually all of marketing has become or is becoming ‘Direct’, it will also be exhilarating to work with the countless thought-leaders at DMA as we help lead the way for the next generation of even more effective, efficient marketing methodologies. I consider myself extremely fortunate to be taking the helm of DMA at this exact time in its history.”
