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| Maria Kaplowitz |
Marla Kaplowitz is stepping down as CEO of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, effective May 30, 2025.
Abbey Klaassen, 4A’s chair and CEO of dentsu Creative US, said the trade group is sad to see Kaplowitz go, but is happy that she gave the 4A’s plenty of time to find a replacement. That search for a new CEO has begun.
Klaassen credited Kaplowitz “for focusing on critical issues for agencies including how to diversify the talent pipeline, how to evaluate various compensation models, how to manage the growing costs of pitching and guiding the industry through the uncertainty of COVID-19.”
Kaplowitz, who took the 4A’s post in 2017, had planned to remain at the helm for only five years. “The fact that I’ve been here for what will be eight years, is testament to the team at the 4A’s, the board and especially the members.”
She is ready “to pursue the next phase of my professional journey.”
That will include serving on the board of publicly traded Penn Entertainment, where Kaplowitz chairs the nominating and governance committee and sits on the compensation committee. She also is a member of industry boards including BBB National Programs, VoxComm, and Ad Council.
Prior to the 4A’s post, Kaplowitz was North America CEO for MEC Global, a WPP unit now called Wavemaker Global; and executive VP at MediaVest, which is part of Publicis Groupe.
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