Bob Wientzen, president/CEO of the New York-based Direct Marketing Association since 1996, formally announced on Dec. 16 his plan to retire effective July 1, 2004. He had informed the DMA Board of Directors his plans recently.
The board has put together an executive search committee composed of current and former board members to find a successor. The board has asked Wientzen, 64, to serve through the end of 2004 to ensure a smooth transition to a new president, and will be available to the DMA on a consulting basis through the end of 2005, he says.
Wientzen took the helm of the DMA after having served on its board for six years. He previously served as chairman/CEO of Advanced Promotion Technologies after a 27-year career with product marketer Procter & Gamble, one of the DMA’s founding member companies.
Wientzen says he’s most proud of leaving the DMA with greater financial resources, and a membership base that has grown nearly 47% since he became CEO. “It’s been a challenge and opportunity I’ve enjoyed in many ways,” he says. “My biggest achievement has been in bringing DMA into a new era of e-commerce. That’s something that wasn’t happening before I got here.”