The Internet Advertising Bureau has appointed its former chief operating officer, Jon Mew, as its new chief executive, taking over from Guy Phillipson later this month.
Having worked at the IAB UK for almost a decade, Mew joined as the trade body’s first head of mobile, eventually merging this into a core part of the business as director of mobile and operations.
With mobile ad spend overtaking desktop for the first time last year, Mew called it a “thrilling” time to be taking up the role.
“The sensational range of digital services that have become part of our daily life are primarily funded by advertising. I want to re-assert positivity around this,” he commented.
‘Compelling vision’
With a CV boasting stints at Freeserve and Orange before joining the IAB, Mew has broad experience working across a variety of media. The IAB’s chairman, Richard Eyre, commented that Mew’s industry knowledge and familiarity with the organisation made him a well-packaged candidate for the demanding position.
“Jon not only has a deep understanding of the workings of the IAB today, he has a compelling vision for its future and proven skills to execute on a demanding strategy. I’m excited to be working with him and his team to deliver it,” said Eyre.
“The IAB will soon represent a £10 billion industry in this country, more complex and variegated than any other media sector,” commented Eyre, cautioning that scale comes with increased innovation, demanding both “agility of mind and positivity of action”.
These are the attributes that the new CEO will be looking to prove at the IAB’s helm in the coming months. Mew himself has already claimed intentions to be more “assertive” in the way the group serves the industry, including ‘restructuring’ to better engage with advertisers and agencies.
Mew is set to take over as chief executive of the IAB on January 13, when Phillipson – who joined the group in 2005 – will officially step down, having been lauded for transforming the IAB into a “model trade organisation”.