Mike Baker, the CEO of outdoor trade association the OMC, has announced that he will step down from his post no later than March 2015, and will wind down his involvement with the trade body from January 2015 onwards.
The news has triggered a strategic review to scope OMC’s future, to be led by Mark Craze, formerly Group CEO of Havas Media.
“I have been developing a media services start-up called Wossname which has been taking more of my time recently,” Baker said in a statement. “Even though my role at OMC is not full time, I am finding it impossible to cover all that the job requires while still giving the start-up its proper care and attention.
“The outdoor sector is in a great place and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working at the OMC. I will have been nearly five years in the role and I am proud of all the team has achieved.
“The industry continues to grow its share of display advertising, media owners are investing heavily in the future, and advertisers are finding more reasons to include outdoor media on their media plans.”
Baker took over the Outdoor Advertising Association in May 2010, rebranding the trade body as the OMC in January 2011 and giving it a more marketing-led direction. His achievements include the Customer Journey research, Power of 5 programme and the Outdoor Works conference in autumn 2013.
“We are sorry to see Mike go and we thank him for his contribution,” said Naren Patel, CEO of Primesight and chairman of the OMC.
“The out of home industry is well placed to benefit from the continued improvement in the economy. Advertisers continue to rely on Out of Home to achieve cost effective cover, while Digital screens are bringing in new tactical advertising revenue.
“We have very ambitious and exciting goals for OOH and are going to take this opportunity to fully evaluate the role of the OMC.”
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