Pete Markey named new Isba president

Pete Markey has been appointed the new Isba president, succeeding NatWest chief marketing officer Margaret Jobling.

Markey, who is chief marketing officer at Boots, has served as vice-president of Isba for the past five years. He begins his new role immediately.

In his first speech as head of Isba at the industry body’s President’s Lunch today (Wednesday), Markey defended the “game-changer” Origin project.

He said: “The ability to surface all the data necessary to make media planning decisions is going to transform the effectiveness and efficiency of Boots’ advertising activity. We will no longer be making decisions with missing data. This, in turn, means we can reinvest savings into more effective marketing.

“Most importantly, it means we will be able to avoid excessively targeting the same people with the same messages. We know this is one of the main reasons why public trust in advertising has declined.

“Origin is going to be a game-changer for marketers and media planners across the UK and, as an industry, we should be rightly proud that the UK is going to be the first region to make cross-media measurement a reality.”

Markey added that advertisers, as the biggest funders of Origin going forward, “will play a significant part in making the decisions about how we develop and improve the platform to adapt to the changing media landscape”.

Setting priorities

As Isba president, Markey will now chair the Isba Council, which oversees the running of the organisation and contributes to the setting of Isba’s priorities. He will work closely with Isba director-general Phil Smith.

Markey has been an active marketer in the industry. Earlier this year, he became chair of the Advertising Association’s Front Foot network.

At Boots, under his tenure the company launched Boots Media Group to allow advertisers to deliver connected marketing campaigns to Boots customers. Markey is also executive sponsor for Boots’ Marketing for Change initiative and the Boots Pride Network.

Before Boots, he has held senior leadership roles at companies including TSB, Aviva and the Post Office.

Inaugural awards

Meanwhile, outgoing president Jobling announced the winners of the inaugural President’s Awards.

The scheme recognises Isba members who have made a significant contribution to the industry to ensure a more transparent and responsible advertising environment.

The five winners are: Emily Latham, former head of digital marketing and martech, Channel 4; Joanne Loughrey, general counsel, L’Oréal; Kerry Chilvers, marketing director, Aviva; Ollie Shayer, omni media director, Boots Media Group; and Sam Taylor, acting marketing director, Direct Line Group.

Jobling said: “I am so proud that my last duty as Isba president is to announce the very first Isba President’s Awards. Isba only exists because of the support and focus of its members and these five individuals are the embodiment of that.”