Karen Martin, Chief Executive of BBH London, was formally elected as IPA President at a Special Meeting of the IPA Council. Karen succeeds Josh Krichefski in the role.
Karla Smith, CFO of Ogilvy UK, was elected as IPA Honorary Treasurer, replacing Bronwen Hemming, Finance Director of Wieden+Kennedy London, while Jamie Elliott, CEO of The Gate London, was re-elected as IPA Honorary Secretary. Additionally, Brian Scott, Director and Co-Owner of Navigator Blue, and Jim Kelly, Deputy MD Head of Planning at Story, were appointed as the new IPA Chairs for Northern Ireland and Scotland respectively.
At the IPA Annual General Meeting which took place immediately before the Special Council Meeting, 17 individuals were either newly elected or re-elected to the IPA Council, 13 to represent corporate members and four to represent personal members. Of those 17 members, nine were re-elected for a further three years and eight are new to Council.
IPA Director of Membership and Secretary to Council, Tom Mott, said: "Congratulations to all our newly elected and re-elected members of the IPA Council, and a special mention to Karen and Karla, Brian and Jim as they take on their new roles.
"As the governing body of the IPA, it is important that Council hears fresh perspectives from across the agency landscape for the betterment of the IPA membership and the wider UK advertising industry. I look forward to formally welcoming Cressida, Dylan, Harjot, James, Mark, Miriam, Miranda and Tommy and to working closely with them in the coming months."
View a full list of IPA Council members
Council is the governing body of the IPA, responsible for its overall management and strategic direction. Council comprises 42 elected members, each of whom is elected for a three-year term, and six ex officio members, namely the two most recent IPA Past Presidents, plus the IPA Chairs of the 44 Club, England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Karen Martin is one of the industry’s most progressive and dynamic leaders and, as CEO of BBH, has ensured the agency delivers on its promise to zag for clients, while reshaping the agency and the industry for a diverse new generation.
Campaign's Head of Agency of the Year, Karen puts craft and creativity first, enabling BBH to deliver on the power of difference for clients including Audi, Burger King and Tesco.
In 2023, she led the agency to achieve its strongest revenue growth in eight years, further diversifying across specialisms including health, brand transformation, design and production and entering one of its most commercially and creatively successful periods.
Karen’s leadership recently led to BBH being named Creative Circle’s Most Creative Agency and Marketing Week's 2023 Agency of the Year.
She was appointed Chair of the IPA Effectiveness Leadership Group in 2023 and, during her tenure at BBH, has helped clients including Audi and Tesco win the IPA Effectiveness Grand Prix. BBH was also IPA’s Effectiveness Company of the Year from 2018-2022. Karen was appointed IPA President in 2025.
Before BBH, Karen spent 14 years in Australia’s ad industry. She was Managing Director of Host Sydney where she ran the agency’s largest account, Bankwest, and won and ran Pizza Hut and Lion Beverages.
Brian’s career began on the client side, with marketing roles at Royal Insurance and the Automobile Association, before making the switch to agency life. That move took him to Navigator Blue—and 26 years later, he’s still there.
During that time, he’s held key roles in the agency, progressing from Account Director to Board Director, and since 2017, Co-Owner. Through it all, he’s stayed hands-on, working with clients every day. With a fully integrated service model spanning strategy, creative, media, and PR, his commitment remains to clients and to continuing to drive Navigator Blue forward.
The only change? Now, he’s carving out time for his role as Chair of the IPA Northern Ireland Group.
Navigator Blue has been an IPA member since 1991 and is currently one of five IPA agencies in Northern Ireland. Brian is focused on continuing the work of previous NI Group Chairs in raising the profile of the local member agencies, ensuring they maximize the value of their IPA membership, and amplifying their voice on both regional and national platforms.
A geography graduate, Jim found his way to London where he was one of the first graduate trainees to be hired by the then recently merged EURO RSCG. At the agency he cut his teeth on accounts including Cadbury’s, Citroen, Kaliber, Mr Sheen and Old Spice.
His time in London agencies (AMV, TBWA, O&M) saw Jim work on some of the UK’s highest profile, award winning accounts like Argos, BT, The COI, The Economist, Eurostar, KFC, Mars’ Confectionery, News International, Sainsbury’s and Virgin.
After travelling, Jim found his way to Edinburgh and joined Story in July 2004. Since 2008, Jim has led the Story planning team on a wide variety of private and public sector client briefs. Clients past and present include Golden Charter, Highland Spring Group, the Home Office, National Australia Bank, NHS 24, People’s Postcode Lottery, The Scottish Government, Scottish and Southern Energy and VELUX.
As well as working closely with his colleagues in Story and across the MISSION Group, Jim plays an active role in the Scottish marketing community. As well as his involvement with the IPA, Jim is a Fellow of The Marketing Society Scotland and was the society’s 2014 Agency Star of the Year.