MBA founder & Economist EVP join the DMA Board

Stephen Maher, founder and CEO of digital marketing agency MBA, and ex-Chair of The Marketing Society, and Mark Cripps, EVP of Brand and Digital Marketing at The Economist, have been appointed to the Board of the DMA.

Maher heads up one of the UK’s leading independent agencies, with clients including Accor Hotels, Cambridge University, Everest, Investec Bank and O2, he brings with him a wealth of experience from over 30 years in the marketing communications industry working with major brands across many sectors both globally and in the UK, as well as managing and developing key industry talent.

Cripps led the Economist’s DMA Grand Prix Award-winning campaign which was designed to acquire new subscribers through digital channels, and held a regional role in Asia at McCann Worldwide's MRM/McCann before joining the publication. In addition to the ground-breaking work for The Economist, he has managed the development of dozens of digital initiatives and marketing campaigns for many blue-chip organisations in his career including Adobe, General Motors, HSBC and Intel.

On his appointment to the DMA Board, Mark Cripps said: “My Dad managed direct marketing for IBM and so as a second-generation data-driven marketer, performance marketing is in my blood. It gives me huge satisfaction to be part of the DMA and surrounded by colleagues who are not only delivering fantastic results today, but creating strategies and new ways of thinking to drive our industry forward. Together with the IDM we’re not only making the marketing more efficient, personal and impactful, but training the practitioners to continue to put this into practice every day too.”

Looking forward to continuing to support the present and future of the marketing industry through his role Stephen Maher comments: “Our sector is going through a period of unprecedented change from GDPR, AI and beyond and everyone from the C-suite to the next generation is looking towards organisations like the DMA for guidance and support to succeed in this our new world. It is a really exciting time to be part of the DMA Board.”

Mark Runacus, Chair of the DMA Group Board said: “Mark and Stephen join us at an exciting time. The DMA is leading the data-driven creative industries into a new era of data-accountability, with GDPR and ePrivacy as a back-drop. We have an ambitious agenda to ensure our members continue to lead the world in terms of data-driven marketing best practice. Their respective skills and experience will be a powerful asset for us all.”

Chris Combemale, CEO of the DMA Group, said: “I’m pleased to welcome both Mark and Stephen to the Board and look forward to working with them to continue to lead the marketing industry through this challenging time. Their experience and commitment to the wider sector is already evident, which will make their independent strategic advice a valuable resource for the DMA’s leadership team to tap into as we face the future.”