Tara Walpert Levy, VP of YouTube across the Americas, has been named chair of the Ad Council’s board of directors. She succeeds Diego Scotti, EVP and general manager of Consumer Group and global marketing and communications at PayPal. Rita Ferro, president global advertising of The Walt Disney Company and Kirk McDonald, CEO of Sundial Media Group currently serve as vice chairs of the Ad Council’s board of directors.
For over 80 years, the Ad Council has led the communications industry’s efforts to drive meaningful positive change. Its board of directors consists of distinguished marketing, media and business executives who offer their expertise, insights, and financial contributions to ensure the effectiveness of the Ad Council’s social impact initiatives. The Ad Council’s board of directors partners closely with the organisation’s leadership to lead fully integrated national initiatives on gun violence, mental health, the drug overdose crisis, hate and bias and more.
As chair, Tara will collaborate with the executive committee, the governing body of the Ad Council’s board, and Ad Council leadership to advance the organisation’s mission of leveraging communications to tackle the nation’s pressing social issues. Additionally, Tara will preside over the Ad Council’s 2024 Annual Public Service Award Dinner, the organisation’s largest annual fundraising event, which will be held on December 5th, 2024.
“Tara’s unwavering dedication to social progress has been exemplary, enhancing and amplifying our work since she first joined our Board,” said Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council. “With Tara at the helm, our ability to drive measurable impact at scale through innovative campaigns will undoubtedly grow, enabling us to create lasting change on the nation’s most pressing issues.”
Tara has been a respected leader in the marketing and media industries for almost 30 years. She re-joined YouTube in 2021 (having led YouTube Ads Marketing globally in 2013-14) to oversee YouTube’s business and operations across the Americas. Previously, she led Google’s Agency and Brand Solutions teams. Tara is committed to giving back to the industry, writing and speaking frequently on the shifting marketing, media, and technology landscape, the evolving responsibility and impact of private and public boards, and the value of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. She is a seasoned public, private, and non-profit company board member focused in similar areas. Tara’s leadership and contributions have been consistently recognised with honours including being inducted into the AAF Advertising Hall of Achievement, named as a dMexco Global Trailblazer, identified as one of Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People in Business’, and most recently the UJA Content Leadership Award for her work at YouTube. Tara first joined the Ad Council’s Board of Directors in 2017.
With the election of Tara, the Ad Council will continue its ongoing tradition of rotating Board Chairs between the organisations’ four sectors: media companies, technology platforms, agencies and advertisers.
For a complete list of the Ad Council Board of Directors, see here.