Simon Michaelides, the interim chief customer officer of Great British Racing, has been tapped to become the next director general of Isba, the trade body for UK advertisers.
He succeeds Phil Smith, who announced last December he would be stepping down from the role after eight years at the helm of the trade body to become chairman of Origin, the UK cross-media measurement platform originally incubated within Isba.
Michaelides has worked in marketing for 27 years, beginning his career with Proctor & Gamble and later PepsiCo. Over the past 12 years, he has worked across a variety of C-Suite roles including for UKTV, BBC Studios UK, and Riviera Travel. He also served as an Isba Council Member from 2020 to 2023.
In addition, Michaelides is a fellow of The Marketing Society and The Marketing Academy and a trustee of motoring and aviation museum the Brooklands Museum.
As Isba director general, he will be responsible for setting the strategic direction of the organisation and driving its mission to support and promote the interests of its members.
Michaelides will begin leading the trade body at an undisclosed date “later this year”, according to a spokesperson.
“It’s an absolute honour to have the opportunity to lead such a prestigious organisation, and to represent and give back to an industry that I love,” Michaelides said in a statement. “Phil is an incredibly tough act to follow, but I look forward to working with the Isba team, the council and the members, to ensure that Isba remains as relevant and impactful going forward, as it has been over the last 125 years!”
Smith called Michaelides “eminently qualified”, asserting that he will “bring fresh eyes and new energy to take Isba forward for the benefit of its members”.
He added he is looking forward to working with him in his new role as chair of Origin “to deliver our members’ cross-media measurement agenda together”. Origin intends to formally launch as soon as this quarter, following beta trials that began last September.
The process of finding a successor to Smith was conducted by a nominations committee led by Isba president and outgoing CMO of Boots Pete Markey, who commented: “I am delighted that Simon will be leading ISBA as the next Director General. He has a wealth of experience across a range of sectors and an impressive track record of driving businesses forward.
“He is passionate about the marketing industry making him exactly the right person to lead ISBA as it continues to represent the voice of advertisers. I am really looking forward to working with Simon and am sure ISBA’s future is in very safe hands”.
