The Communications Council has appointed Happy Soldiers' Lindsey Evans and Leo Burnett's Melinda Geertz to its national board as part of a move to have greater female representation.
Currently, the national board has no female members. Managing director of The Marketing Zoo, David Lo, has also been appointed to the board.
Lo's appointment to the board follows the merger of the Australasian Promotional Marketing Association, of which he was the chairman, with The Comms Council in May this year.
Comms Council chairman Anthony Freedman said: “The current board members were appointed to represent the geographic breadth and diversity of our membership. It is a board of extremely experienced representatives within different agency roles, but in their election, we neglected the gender balance.
"We’ve been rightly reminded of the need to better reflect the views of the women in the industry so with David Lo joining the Board, we’ve now added these two positions with the intention to redress the imbalance.”
Lindsey Evans, partner at Happy Soldiers, said: "If we are to be recognised for the true value we help to create - for our clients and their brands – then bringing together all the disparate disciplines and stakeholders is exactly what our industry needs today. And this is exactly what the Council is all about.”
Melinda Geertz, chief executive at Leo Burnett Melbourne, said: "I am delighted to join however and the challenge
this industry has in retaining female talent will definitely be one of
the issues on my agenda.”
Separately, the Comms Council is looking for wildcard members to join the AWARD awards jury, judging alongside a panel of industry leaders. It is inviting individuals to nominate themselves, explaining why they would bring a unique perspective to the judging process. Entries close 3 November.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.