Interim DMA Chief Will Be Insider: DMA Chair
With Direct Marketing Association president and CEO John A. Greco having departed the organization more than five months before the end of his contract, the DMA is in the unusual position of hunting for an interim leader. Look for candidates to come from within the DMA orbit, according to DMA board chair Eugene Raitt.
The short list for the interim position has “a number of names,” Raitt told Direct Newsline. While it’s primarily made up of former board members, current staff will be considered as well. “No outsiders,” Raitt said.
Raitt expects the interim CEO, who will likely be in place for between three and six months, to be named “shortly”. The search committee members who will review full-time replacement candidates will be announced early next week, Raitt said. The committee will be working in conjunction with an executive search firm.
While the interim leader should bring stability, continuity and professional management skills to the position, the permanent replacement will face a much more rigorous slate of requirements.
The next permanent leader should also have knowledge of the association marketplace, a deep knowledge of direct marketing practices, management skills, visibility within the industry and “outstanding credentials across a wide range of media, particularly digital and social channels,” Raitt said.
Raitt noted Greco’s “ability to navigate some very difficult stretches for the DMA,” as well as his capacity for negotiating with other trade associations, his understanding of direct marketing practices and his grasp of direct marketing’s impact on the U.S. economy, and added that these qualities, as well, would be sought in Greco’s permanent replacement.
Which begs a question: Why did Greco leave on Monday, rather than stay through the balance of his contract, which ran through June 30?
“This was John’s choice,” Raitt said. “He chose to take this opportunity to step aside and allow the board to seek different leadership in conjunction with the changes we are preparing to announce shortly.”
Raitt wouldn’t elaborate on these planned activities, other than to reiterate a pledge he made to bring change to the DMA. He did say his plans have been in the works for two years.
If there are any clues as to Raitt’s intentions, they lay in the fact that in several discussions he has mentioned the need to both trumpet and expand the organization’s current digital and social media offerings.
Greco may be stepping aside, but he’ll be paid the balance of his contract, Raitt said. While Raitt wouldn’t comment on specific amounts, based on Greco’s salary from the organization’s 18-month-old filings the payout could easily top $300,000.
“John gets everything he’s entitled to in his contract,” Raitt said. “[The payment] is in recognition of past contributions to the DMA, which we believe were significant, his professional conduct in the past years, and his guidance and his willingness to see the DMA through some difficult times. John was instrumental in leading the charge for postal reform, which was a major accomplishment He was also instrumental in leading the charge against do not mail legislation in many states.”
Greco’s contracts – a three-year one initially, followed by a two-year deal and a one-year extension – have featured escalating salaries. These have come under public fire, especially as the organization has undergone several deep rounds of layoffs.
Raitt said that Greco had earned the salary increases under the terms of his contracts. “John was working each year against a matrix of objectives weighted against their degree of difficulty and the aspect of the business they related to,” he said. These metrics included top-line revenue growth, membership development and retention goals.
“Without disclosing what those metrics were, he qualified, and he earned whatever he was paid,” Raitt added. “Membership up until a year and a half ago was increasing. It wasn’t until the financial tsunami hit that the DMA, like other associations, suffered greatly.”
Without confirming whether this was the case with Greco’s contract, Raitt noted that in rough economic environments, some goals which represent limited losses are “valid and worthwhile”.
“I think it is a safe bet that when we recruit and hire the next CEO, there will be similar metrics with similar weighting within areas that are key for growth and retention,” Raitt said.
There’s one area that will be hard to quantify. Asked about the DMA’s value proposition when compared with other industry groups, Raitt immediately mentioned its advocacy work.
“That is the strongest point of differentiation for the DMA,” he said. “Other groups ride on the coattails of DMA positions. DMA advocacy has always led the field. There isn’t any other group that has bench strength, depth and impact that we provide, including those in the digital and social arenas. We intend to protect their ability to do business, whether in the direct mail, catalog, digital or social channels. We don’t often get credit for that, and that is something we intend to change.”
by Richard H. Levey – DirectMag.com
