Former Disney Executive Hired To Chair The DMA

We are delighted to announce the appointment of marketing pioneer and our current board member Tony Miller, as our new Non-Executive Chair of the DMA Board, which came into effect on 1 July.

We would like to express our utmost gratitude to our current Chair, Stephen Maher, who has delivered incredible work for the DMA over his four years in the position, working alongside Pipa Unsworth, Deputy Chair.

Maher, as a long-standing patron of the DMA and the marketing industry in general, has generously extended his term by six months to 3.5 years to ensure a smooth transition between himself and Tony his successor. Maher shares how proud he is of what the DMA has achieved during his term:

“It has been an honour to serve as the DMA’s Chair working alongside Pipa Unsworth as Deputy Chair for the last four years as well as the brilliant Chris , Rachel and the whole Board said Maher. “During my tenure, I am very proud to say the DMA has achieved continued growth of its flagship awards, maneuvered new legislation such as DPDI, navigated the implications of COVID on our industry, developed an industry-leading online learning platform for marketers, won game changing digital bootcamp contracts from the Dept of Education and introduced new effectiveness tracking tools and pivotal data insights through the DMA Effectiveness Databank. The DMA has a responsibility to clearly demonstrate the integral role that marketing plays in business growth today, and we are all excited to see Tony bring his vision to life this year and beyond.”

Miller has served as a DMA board member, as well as Committee Chair of the DMA Awards, for more than four years, whilst he spent nearly five years at The Walt Disney Company as VP Digital Marketing & CRM for EMEA, and nearly three years as CMO/VP Growth & Performance Marketing at WW (formerly Weight Watchers).

“Data and marketing is at the fulcrum of what we do, underpinning our ambition to fuel the growth of our industry,” commented Miller. “Through our people, creativity, ethics, and technology, marketing impacts everything we touch, and its our members that power its evolution through the resources we provide, the relationships we build, and how we represent ourselves to government and regulators.

“But there is no doubt the industry is changing, evolving, and innovating at the rate of knots. Customers' expectations of brands are increasingly high, and competition across all sectors is fierce. This, exacerbated by macro-economic and political influences, puts the marketing industry’s role in driving business growth under the spotlight like never before. Because of this, I believe the role of the DMA is now more important than ever. As the voice of the data and marketing industry, and the body responsible for driving change for the better, we are committed to equipping the industry not just with just the tools it needs to succeed, but with the knowledge and know-how to inform, inspire, improve, influence, and interact through our established community of experts.”

Managing Director of the DMA, Rachel Aldighieri, added: “It’s critical that we champion and prove the value of marketing, and professionalise the discipline – as the UK’s data and marketing trade association, the DMA is fundamental in driving this. We are grateful for Maher’s contributions over the last few years and his continuous commitment to championing the data and marketing industry. Under Tony’s leadership, the DMA will continue to empower our marketing leaders of today and tomorrow with the confidence and expertise they need to stand up for the value of marketing in the boardroom, accurately react to the evolving data, technological and ethical landscape, and upskill those around them to create the next generation of professional marketers in the UK.”

“Tony is a marketing pioneer, and has played a pivotal role in our industry for many years now, in which time he’s witnessed first-hand the fundamental shift in marketing from what used to be a traditional, direct approach to what is now an undeniably data-driven one. Tony knows the industry and the DMA inside out, and will play an integral part in increasing our membership base.”

About the DMA

We are the voice of the data and marketing industry run by the industry, for the industry. We set the standards for the good of marketers, and most importantly, customers. We empower marketers to drive growth and prove the value of data through advocacy, resources, learning, and talent. With over 700 organisations, the DMA is the UK’s largest community made up of 27,000+ marketers.

Prior to his role as Chair, Miller has taken over as Deputy Chair from Pipa Unsworth, whose term comes to end as deputy chair but continues to serve as a board member until December 2024.

Read the full article on Forbes here.