• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, October 1, 2013

There’s a changing of the guard at the Digital Place-Based Advertising Association, with former Captivate president Mike DiFranza stepping down as chairman to be replaced by Zoom Media & Marketing chairman and “chief coaching officer” François de Gaspé Beaubien.

Beaubien, who became chairman and CEO of Zoom after acquiring the company in 2003, has been an active member of the DPAA since its founding in 2006, when it was known by its previous moniker, the Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau. He has played a growing leadership role in the digital out-of-home advertising business.

He is also the executive chairman of Ayuda Media Systems, which created a widely used Billboard Management System for buying and selling outdoor ad inventory online.

DiFranza resigned as DPAA chairman when he stepped down as president of Captivate last week, following the announcement that Gannett is spinning off Captivate in partnership with private equity firm Generation Partners -- a deal that DiFranza helped bring to fruition.

Although DiFranza is stepping down as chairman of the DPAA, that doesn’t signal the end of his involvement with the industry organization. He’s being recognized for his leadership of the DPAA over the last seven years with the ceremonial title of “founding chairman,” and says he intends to continue working with the DPAA and other companies in the digital out-of-home space through his new consulting business, Otter Hill Advisors.

The executive shuffle comes as the DPAA prepares for its upcoming annual media summit, “Video Everywhere,” on October 22 at the Hilton New York. The summit’s confirmed speakers include Phil Cowdell, president of client services for GroupM; Bob Liodice, president and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers; Barry Lowenthal, president of The Media Kitchen; Kristian Magel, executive vice-president and director national broadcast at Initiative U.S.; Lyle Schwartz, managing partner and director of research and marketplace analysis for GroupM Worldwide; and David Verklin, operating partner at Calera Capital .