International Advertising Association Malaysia elects 2012 Exco Committee

The Malaysian chapter of the International Advertising Association’s (IAA) announces a mix of new and old members elected onto the 2012 Exco Committee.

Harmandar Singh of Sledgehammer Communications continues as President for 2012. Also retaining his position as Honorary Secreetary is T Renganathan, CEO of Draftfcb, and Peter de Kretser, COO of GO Communications, remains as Chairman of Public Relations.

Newly elected into the IAA Malaysia Exco Committee are John D. Chacko, Chief Marketing Officer or Proton Holdings Berhad, who assumes duties as Vice President; Marceline Lemarie, Group CEO of Katchi Group, as Treasurer; Yasmin Mokhtar, Client Services Director for McCann Erickson, as Chairman of Membership and Activity; Janet Lee, Director of 95% The Advertising Agency, as Chairman of Training and Development; and Chris Wee of SAYS.my, overseeing the Young Professionals Category.

“Our objectives for the coming year are two-fold,” commented Harmandar, popularly known as Ham in the industry. “Firstly, we will ramp up our membership drive, to increase members by at least 50%.”

“Secondly, it is our ambition that the 44th IAA World Congress, which is the one taking place in 2013, be held in Malaysia. We intend to work on making this happen.”

The IAA World Congress is a conference of IAA members held annually and has gained a reputation over the years as a leading industry thought leadership platform. The 43rd IAA World Congress, held during September 2011 in Vienna, Austria, attracted over a thousand delegates from over 45 countries who came to hear recognized industry experts speak.

“We will also continue to organize relevant and fun networking and industry events for the rest of the year,” said Ham. “Last year, we organized the ‘Chindia Rising – How China and India will benefit your Business’ forum, which featured speakers such as former Minister of International Trade Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz. This is the calibre of events that we have on our radar for the year.”

The IAA urges young professionals to consider membership. “The IAA offers a strategic partnership which is not only pro-active and advocates freedom of commercial speech, but also champions the interest of all disciplines across the spectrum of marketing communications,” said Ham.