DMMA announces 2013 Steering Committee

The body has moved away from its previous structure, replacing its Executive Committee with a Steering Committee. Nikki Cockcroft, DMMA Executive Director and Head of Bookmarks, explains the reason for this change: "As it is the DMMA's 10th birthday this year, it was the right time for us to make a few changes to our structure to ensure that we continue to grow from strength to strength. As a non-profit organisation with a rapidly growing member base, it is pertinent to relook at how we appoint the right committee, as we are dependent on this team to drive the annual initiatives. Therefore, we have introduced a Steering Committee to be nominated by our members and appointed by our Board that will not necessarily need to be re-elected every year, as we have done previously." Cockcroft will remain on the DMMA as the only current Executive Director and is looking to appoint a new Board of Directors during the course of the year.

Introducing the DMMA Steering Committee:

Executive Director and Head of Bookmarks: Nikki Cockcroft (Woolworths)
Cockcroft has sat on the Exco for the past five years, initially in the capacity as Head of Marketing and then in the combined capacity as Deputy Chair and Head of Marketing. In 2011 and 2012 she served as Chair of the DMMA and in 2013 she will remain with the DMMA as Executive Director.

Director and Chair of Steering Committee: Jarred Cinman (Native)
Cinman has been immersed in the digital industry for the past 15 years and is a founder and director of Native. Having formerly acted as Deputy Chair for the DMMA Exco, this year Cinman has been appointed as Director and Chair of the Steering Committee.

Director: Theresa Vitale
Vitale joined the DMMA (formerly the OPA) in 2003, and has played a key role in establishing and managing DMMA affairs as well as driving its largest initiative - the prestigious Bookmarks Awards. Vitale has been appointed as a Director of the Steering Committee in 2013.

Head of Research: Gustav Goosen (Spacestation)
Goosen served on the DMMA Exco in 2011 and was responsible for the Monitoring portfolio. Goosen was appointed Head of the Research portfolio in 2012 and will remain in this position in 2013.

Head of Publishers: Tim Spira (eTV)
Spira will be managing the interests of the DMMA's publisher members in his capacity as Head of Publishers in 2013.

Head of Agencies: Fred Roed (World Wide Creative)
Roed first started teaching people how to build their brands in the digital economy in 1998 and is currently the CEO of digital marketing agency World Wide Creative. Roed is the newly appointed Head of Agencies for the DMMA Steering Committee in 2013.

Head of Education and Transformation: Hazel Mathoora (MediaLearn)
Mathoora is the founder of a training company called MediaLearn, which aims to educate on technological matters via the digital channels. She is therefore ideally positioned to head up the DMMA Education and Transformation portfolio.

Head of Measurement: Mike van Eck (Ads24)
The Measurement portfolio which manages relations with DMMA appointed measurement vendor, Effective Measure, will be headed by Mike van Eck in 2013.

Head of Marketing: Kate Wolters (Kate Wolters Communications)
Wolters is a freelance communications strategist and will be managing the DMMA's marketing activities for 2013.

The DMMA has also added two new portfolios: Regulatory and Liaison. Andrew Allison (Quirk) has been appointed as head of the newly established Regulatory portfolio, which aims to provide assistance to members seeking advice on regulatory issues by liaising with the relevant legal entities. Anthony Pascoe (Teamtalk Media) has been appointed as head of the Liaison portfolio, which was established with the aim of building bilateral relationships with key partners in 2013.

"The appointment of this committee of skilled and dedicated individuals underpins the DMMA's commitment to driving the initiatives that we have set out for this year. We have the utmost confidence that the Steering Committee will successfully deliver on the objectives identified, ultimately contributing to the growth of the digital landscape in 2013," concludes Cockcroft.