Hamish Pringle

Hamish joined the IPA as Director General in August 2001, having spent nearly 30 years in the industry. He first joined Ogilvy & Mather as a graduate trainee in 1973. After spells at Boase Massimi Pollitt, Publicis, Abbott Mead Vickers, his own agency Madell Wilmot Pringle and Leagas Delaney, Hamish joined KHBB in 1992 and became Chairman and CEO in 1995. Following the KHBB merger in 1997, he became Vice-Chairman and Director of Marketing at Saatchi & Saatchi. In 1999, Hamish launched his own branding and marketing communications consultancy, Brand Beliefs and became Consultant Director of Marketing Strategy for the IPA. Hamish is a regular contributor to conferences and the media on the broad theme of branding and marketing communications. He’s also written three books, Brand Spirit: how cause related marketing builds brands, co-authored with Marjorie Thompson of Saatchi’s, published in 1999, Brand Manners: how to create the self-confident organisation to live the brand co-authored with William Gordon of Accenture, published in 2001, and Celebrity Sells, his IPA book, published by John Wiley & Sons in April 2004. As Director General he represents the IPA on a number of industry bodies including the Coundil and Executive Committee of the Advertising Association (AA), the Advertising Standards Board of Finance (ASBOF), the Broadcast Advertising Standards Board of Finance (BASBOF), the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) and Radio Joint Audience Research (RAJAR). He is also a member of the Executive Board of the European Association of Communication Agencies (EACA), is past Chairman of its National Associations Council, and a Director of BCAP. Hamish is also a member of the Marketing Group of Great Britain (MGGB), Soho House and a Fellow of The Marketing Society. He is a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford.