4A’s Appoints Greg Stern as New Board Chair

Founding Partner of BSSP Succeeds Horizon’s Bill Koenigsberg

Note: For more details, including a list of all incoming board members, see the related 4A’s member bulletin.

Sept. 28, 2017 (New York)—The 4A’s, the leading trade association representing the advertising agency business, today announced that Greg Stern, founding partner of BSSP, has been named chairman of the board. The 4A’s board of directors is composed of chief executives from member agencies of all sizes and disciplines. Effective October 1, Stern succeeds Bill Koenigsberg, founder and chief executive of Horizon Media.

Stern previously served as a director and vice chair on the 4A’s board. A founding partner of BSSP, the agency veteran has more than 30 years of advertising and marketing experience, both domestically and internationally.

Earlier in his career, Stern was recruited by Ogilvy, for whom he worked in New York and Southeast Asia for 10 years, managing clients including Unilever, Nestlé, American Express and Seagram. He then returned to the United States in 1992 with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, and in 1993 joined John Butler and Mike Shine to start the Sausalito, California-based agency.

At BSSP, Stern leads the strategic direction of the independent agency, including key acquisitions. In its 23 years, BSSP has grown from a three-person startup to a full-service, integrated marketing services company with 120 people. Stern is also an adviser to, and investor in, a range of technology and other startups.

Stern will work closely with the board and 4A’s president and CEO Marla Kaplowitz on industry issues and 4A’s strategic initiatives.

“Bill has demonstrated passionate and dedicated leadership during his time as our board chair. We are thankful for the support he’s given us over the years and for the guidance he’ll continue to offer as vice chair for the next year,” said Kaplowitz. “We are excited to have Greg take on this esteemed role, and we look forward to having him help us lead the 4A’s successfully into the future. Greg has extensive experience in the field and has been an inspirational leader who has disrupted the status quo in our industry.” Stern has served on the board of the 4A’s for 13 years as well as serving three terms as an SFJAZZ trustee, among other organizations.

“I am honored to succeed Bill and am grateful to him for his years of steady leadership of the 4A’s board,” Greg said. “I am eager to bring a fresh perspective to the board and am deeply committed to working with the board of directors to provide insight and strategic initiatives, and to continue to enhance the organization’s value for its member agencies and all 4A’s stakeholders.”

For further details, please visit https://www.aaaa.org/.

About the 4A’s Board of Directors
The 4A’s board of directors is composed of chief executives from member agencies of all sizes and meets three times per year. In the intervening months, the work of the association is directed by the operations committee, composed of the board chairman, vice chairman, secretary-treasurer, president and directors-at-large.

About the 4A’s
The 4A’s, founded in 1917, is the leading authority representing the marketing communications agency business. It provides leadership, advocacy and training that empower agencies to innovate, evolve and grow. It serves 740 member agencies across 1,400 offices that control more than 85 percent of total U.S. advertising spend. The 4A’s is committed to protecting the best interests of its members, their employees and the industry at large. Its benefits division insures more than 164,000 agency professionals, and the DC office advocates for policies that best support a thriving advertising industry. With its best-in-class learning and career development programs, the 4A’s and its foundation fuel a robust diversity pipeline of talent for its members and the marketing and media industry, fostering the next generation of leaders. For more information, please visit www.aaaa.org.

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