Former DDFH&B group chief executive Miriam Hughes has been named as the new chairperson of the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI), the self-regulatory body responsible for promoting high standards of marketing communications nationally. Hughes replaces IAB boss Suzanne McElligott, who had been acting as interim chair.
McElligott intends to remain on the ASAI board.
Hughes spent almost two decades at DDFH&B, including eight years in charge of the business. She had previously headed up the marketing team at Bank of Ireland and worked with Nestle Confectionery. She is now also chairperson and non-executive director of Bus Eireann and the Pluto agency, as well as being a non-executive director of Eir and CIE.
Hughes was also a board member of IAPI, a past president of the Marketing Institute, a past president of the Association of Advertisers in Ireland (AAI) and chairperson and non-executive director of the children’s charity Barnardos. She has a BComm and an MBS in marketing from UCD and is also a chartered director of the Institute of Directors (IoD).
The ASAI is financed by the advertising industry and works to promote high standards in advertising, promotions and direct marketing. The objective is to ensure that all commercial marketing communications are legal, decent, honest and truthful. Media are required to abide by the code and not to publish an ad or run a promotion which contravenes ASAI rules.
