Jani Yates
Jani Yates has been president of the Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) for nine years, but is heading out the door at the end of May to take on a new challenge as president of Advertising Standards Canada (ASC).
The ASC’s current president, Linda J. Nagel, announced her departure from advertising’s self-regulatory body back in November 2015, saying that after 21 years with the organization, she was ready to “pause and reflect” before making her next career move.
“How many times does a job like this come up in a person’s career?” asked Yates during a phone interview with Marketing. Yates was approached in January by the ASC’s selection committee after serving on its board for more than 10 years.
“When I first started at ICA, I was excited because it gave me an opportunity to work in this field in a broader sense, rather than at an agency, for example. This is the same kind of thing. It’s taking me to another opportunity to work on self-regulation, which is so important.”
Gillian Graham
Yates’ announcement falls on the heels of a similar departure at the ICA; CEO Gillian Graham announced her departure in March and is currently working with the board on finding a replacement ahead of her July exit.
However, this week the ICA is set to discuss the future of its executive structure. The responsibilities of the CEO and president had been combined as recently as 2005 under Graham’s CEO predecessor, Rupert Brendon. Such a role may be needed again to reflect the modern industry’s needs.
“We are doing a two-day discussion. How often does a company get the opportunity to hit the reset button? It’s so wonderful because we can ask what the best resources and people will be to lead it forward. We can envision what kind of staff and expertise we need and bring it in,” said Yates.
In a release, Penny Stevens, president of Media Experts and chair of the current ICA board of directors, said “while Jani’s announcement is unexpected, the energy and commitment of the ICA staff gives us great confidence in the continued excellence of the ICA. In addition, it does provide an opportunity for us to rethink the overall leadership structure, roles and responsibilities to meet the needs of the ICA, now and in the future.”
