GLOBAL – NEW YORK, USA, SEPTEMBER 2011: Benjamin Palmer, co-founder and CEO of The Barbarian Group, New York, has been elected to serve a three-year term as the 58th president of the Art Directors Club, the longest-running global creative collective of its kind with membership in design, advertising, interactive and visual communications.
Palmer co-founded The Barbarian Group and has served as CEO since company inception in 2001. He has quickly risen as one of the most recognized and respected voices in interactive advertising, playing a pivotal role in transforming the digital industry from an experiment into a central component of successful marketing and earning accolades including one of Esquire magazine’s “Best and Brightest”. Under his leadership, The Barbarian Group was named Creativityʼs “Interactive Agency of the Year” in 2006 and “Digital Company of the Year” in 2008, and recently recognized as one of the worldʼs 50 most innovative companies by Fast Company.
He joined the ADC board in 2008, and has played an active role in club direction and programing. Palmer succeeds Doug Jaeger, president, JaegerSloan, Inc., New York, who when appointed at age 33 was the youngest president in ADC’s 91-year history, a move reflective of the organization’s continued commitment to remain relevant and connected to the changing creative community.
“Doug laid the groundwork for reinvigorating ADC as a cultural hub with strong year-round programming,” said Palmer. “I want the club to continue in that direction, with programming that appeals on both local and global levels and cool events in our great gallery space that connect people and provide real value to members.”
“Benjamin Palmer is absolutely the right person to lead ADC,” added Jaeger. “He’s a hardcore entrepreneur and artist who has proven himself as a successful creative, leader and businessperson. He’s brought valuable partnerships to ADC, helped curate activities and made key contributions to club direction.”
The club also named four new members to its board of directors: Nicole Jacek, creative director, karlssonwilker, New York; Alessandra Lariu, co-founder, SheSays, New York; Dany Lennon, owner/president, The Creative Register, Inc., New York and Robert Wong, executive creative director, Google Creative Lab, New York. For more information on the ADC board members, please visit www.adcglobal.org/adc/directors.
