• by Larissa Faw , January 6, 2021

Linda Yaccarino, Chairman, Global Advertising and Partnerships, NBCUniversal, has been named Chair of the Ad Council’s Board of Directors, succeeding David Fischer, CRO of Facebook.

As Chair, Yaccarino will work in collaboration with Ad Council leadership and the Executive Committee — the governing body of the Ad Council’s Board — to help develop messaging to address key social issues. She will also play a role in continuing to galvanize the industry’s support for the national COVID Vaccine Education effort, one of the largest public education campaigns in history.

Additionally, Yaccarino will manage and advise on business affairs and chair the Ad Council’s 2021 Annual Public Service Award Dinner, the organization’s largest annual fundraising event.

She is already a key player for the gala, serving on the Annual Dinner Entertainment Committee, where she helped secure talent for the Ad Council’s annual fundraiser. She also currently Co-Chairs the Ad Council’s Crisis Response and Recovery Effort with Fischer, which raises funds for the Ad Council’s ongoing response to the pandemic.

Yaccarino joined the Ad Council Board of Directors in 2014 and became a member of the Executive Committee in 2015. Most recently, Yaccarino served as one of the group’s Vice Chairs.

Under Yaccarino’s leadership, NBCUniversal has donated significant media to support Ad Council campaigns and, through the company’s “content innovation agency,” has created custom public service advertisements for campaigns including “Buzzed Driving Prevention,” “LGBT Acceptance” and COVID-19 Response.

She will serve in the role until June 30, 2022 as the organization continues its ongoing tradition of rotating Board Chairs between the organizations’ four sectors: media companies, technology platforms, agencies and advertisers. Dentsu’s Jacki Kelley is next in line.