In one of the most dramatic reforms in its history, the Direct Marketing Association has created four board-level committees to strengthen its strategic reporting process. The committees – ethics and privacy, government affairs, new initiatives and industry segments – will meet three times a year and be composed exclusively of DMA board members. In addition, the association will form segment advisory groups for the following industry sectors: business-to-business, catalog/mail order, consumer service, information/list/database, international, Internet, nonprofit and teleservices/DRTV. The goal is to “set up an internal board structure to provide oversight of the principal areas of activity,” said H. Robert Wientzen, president and chief executive officer of the DMA, in an interview during December’s National Center for Database Marketing conference in Orlando, FL. Reporting to the oversight groups will be several existing committees, such as those devoted to ethics policy, priv! acy, and legal and government af fairs. Previously, these committees reported directly to the board. The reform was first discussed during the tenure of former DMA CEO Jonah Gitlitz. The DMA is now seeking 70 to 80 people to join the segment advisory groups. The chair of the appropriate DMA council will participate in each group. The chair of each segment advisory group also will sit on the industry segments oversight committee.
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