The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), the leading global trade association of businesses and nonprofit multichannel marketers, today announced it has appointed Lawrence M. Kimmel as its new Chief Executive Officer.  Mr. Kimmel is the former Chairman and CEO of Grey Direct Global Network, a leading direct and digital agency, where he was responsible for up to 49 offices in 42 countries.  He will begin on Monday, August 2 and be based in DMA's New York headquarters.

The search for the new CEO is believed to have been the most extensive in DMA's 93-year history; conducted over a six-month period with Mr. Kimmel as the overwhelming choice of DMA's Board of Directors.

"DMA is enormously pleased that Larry Kimmel has agreed to serve as our next CEO," said DMA Board Chairman Steven Dapper.  "Larry brought Grey Direct record-breaking results virtually every year he led the firm, successfully serving many of the world's leading companies. He will bring to DMA an extraordinary depth of global experience, a strong management capability, and powerful insights into the evolving and exhilarating direct and digital marketplaces.  We look forward to his leadership and strategic guidance to our staff, the Board, and our vast membership.

"DMA today represents companies from dozens of vertical industries in the US and 48 other nations, including nearly half of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as nonprofit organizations," continued Dapper.  "We are especially fortunate to have Larry on board as we prepare for the Association's annual conference & exhibition, DMA2010 Conference & Exhibition, to be held October 9-14 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California."

Mr. Kimmel said, "This is an exciting time to be in marketing, yet it is also a period that demands far more innovation, collaboration and education.  As such, it will be rewarding to ensure that DMA members get every competitive advantage, and that the broader marketing community and consumers are well served by the critical activities of DMA's Government Affairs group in Washington, DC."

Mr. Kimmel added, "Now that virtually all of marketing has become or is becoming 'Direct', it will also be exhilarating to work with the countless thought-leaders at DMA as we help lead the way for the next generation of even more effective, efficient marketing methodologies.  I consider myself extremely fortunate to be taking the helm of DMA at this exact time in its history."

Before becoming Chairman and CEO of Grey Direct in 2000, Mr. Kimmel served as the President of the agency's flagship office.  Prior to Grey, Mr. Kimmel spent seven years in senior management at Draft Worldwide.  Mr. Kimmel was the founder and President of Unimark, a direct marketing, promotion, and advertising agency that created hundreds of successful initiatives for small- and medium-sized businesses.  In the past year, Mr. Kimmel started a business with his wife, Dr. Tara Allmen, one of America's leading experts in menopausal medicine.  The company's products have been lauded by medical thought-leaders; in the blogosphere; by consumers; and have been featured on Good Morning America, Fox News, CBS News, and countless other media outlets.  He is a graduate of American University in Washington, D. C.