The American Association of Advertising Agencies, a membership-based U.S. trade association for the advertising and marketing communications industry, announced today the appointments of Kyle Allen, Partner, Global Director of Media & Research, 9thWonder; Michelle Headley, EVP Operations & Production, Alma; and Helen Lin, Chief Digital Officer, Publicis Groupe; to its National Board of Directors.
Lin will serve as a Director-at-Large for a three-year term, while Allen and Headley will both serve as Southern Region Board Members for one-year terms, respectively.
“Our new board members bring in fresh perspectives and experiences that will complement the diverse needs of the members we serve. I am thrilled to welcome them to our Board and look forward to the work we will do together as we continue to champion and support our members with what they need to compete,” said 4A’s President and CEO, Marla Kaplowitz.
Kyle Allen
Partner, Global Director of Media & Research
9thWonder
Kyle takes his insights from 35 years of research, media planning/buying experience and turns them into new insights and possibilities for 9thWonder clients. Leading the planning and research efforts at the agency, Kyle ensures targeted communication that establishes relevant connections between brands and consumers. Further, he leads the agency’s quants in ROI-based initiatives that define the metrics by which we determine success. Kyle serves on the 4A’s South Texas Agency Council.
He received a BS in Advertising and Marketing from Stephen F. Austin State University and has worked with a broad range of clients, some of which include Mattress Firm, Texas Lottery, Direct Energy, Popeyes, Subway, Pizza Hut, Whataburger, Success Rice, ConocoPhillips, RoTel and Shiner Beer.
Michelle Headley
EVP, Operations & Production
Alma
Michelle started her career with a summer job at a small Miami agency and never left. Over three decades later, her leadership and ability to master creative excellence and business results in equal measure have contributed to growing that small agency into one of the premier multicultural marketing shops in the country, revolutionizing how Fortune 500 brands market to general and multicultural audiences.
Today, Michelle is a partner at alma and its EVP, Operations & Production. She manages the day-to-day business operations and leads the areas of Talent/Human Resources and Project Management. As Head of Production, she built the department from the ground up as well as the Content Studio. She leads the production team to deliver creative solutions executed with a high level of craft for global brands such as McDonald’s, Pepsi, Molson Coors Beverages, Google, P&G, Wells Fargo, State Farm and Florida Anti-Tobacco, among others.
Michelle believes diversity is the creative force behind successful campaigns and has long championed DE&I both internally and externally. She’s extremely proud to work with a team comprising over 31 different nationalities and being a mentor in Adcolor’s Future Champions program. Her accomplishments include 23 Cannes Lions wins, 10 Effies, and being named to Ad Age’s prestigious A-List six times since 2010. Among her other accomplishments are winning Clios, One Show, FIAP, El Sol, ANA Multicultural Excellence Awards and AAF Mosaic Awards, and has been a juror at top industry awards.
Helen Lin
Chief Digital Officer
Publicis Groupe
As Publicis Groupe’s Chief Digital Officer, Helen Lin has been a long-time catalyst of innovation, programmatic, and fiercely championing diversity and inclusion. Helen is responsible for driving integrated digital opportunities across the Publicis Groupe organization, while leading the holding company’s broader digital strategy, partnerships, investment and negotiations. She represents Publicis Groupe across industry-leading initiatives to improve digital standards and overall brand safety on the largest consumer platforms. Previously, Helen was Chief Digital Officer for Publicis Media, where she led digital investment, global partnerships and innovation for the network globally and helped clients remain at the forefront of the rapidly evolving digital ecosystem. She also led the charge of offering in-house consulting services for Publicis Media clients – advising on their programmatic, search and social capabilities by leveraging the expertise, scale and proprietary tools created at Publicis. As an established mentor and role model among her teams, Helen’s professional focus goes far beyond client and agency work. She is the founding Executive Sponsor of Publicis Media’s BRG Power of Women!, an active member for Asians in ADCOLOR and the newly formed ANA Asian American Agency Leadership, and board member for Partnership with Children – a non-profit that helps over 10,000 New York City children overcome the stresses of growing up in poverty. Helen makes it her personal mission to create conversations around female leadership and diversity in the workplace, receiving recognition as an ADCOLOR Legend, Campaign US Female Frontier winner, MediaPost Digital All-Star, Adweek Media All-Star and Cynopsis Top Women in Digital honoree.
To learn more about the 4A’s please visit: https://www.aaaa.org/.
About the 4A’s: The 4A’s was established in 1917 to promote, advance, and defend the interests of our member agencies, employees and the advertising and marketing industries overall. We empower our members to drive commerce, spark connections, and shape culture through infinite creativity. With a focus on advocacy, talent and the value of creativity and technology to drive business growth and cultural change, the organization serves 600+ member agencies across 1,200 offices, which help direct more than 85% of total U.S. advertising spend. The 4A’s includes the 4A’s Benefits division, which insures more than 160,000 employees; the government relations team, who advocate for policies to support the industry; and the 4A’s Foundation, which advocates for and connects multicultural talent to the marketing industry by fostering a culture of curiosity, creativity and craft to fuel a more equitable future for the industry.
