Former IPG chief David Bell joins Flipboard’s board of directors
Flipboard, the content discovery platform, has announced that David Bell, former CEO of Interpublic Group (IPG) and founder and chairman of global B2B agency Gyro, has been elected to Flipboard's board of directors.
Flipboard brings on former IPG exec David Bell
Bell was elected to the board following the resignation of Danny Rimer, partner at Index Ventures, who has been on the board since the company’s founding 10 years ago.
Over the course of his career, Bell has been CEO of True North Communications, Knox Reeves, Bozell, and most notably, Interpublic Group, one of the world's largest marketing communications and services companies. In 2008, Bell founded global B2B agency Gyro in partnership with Pegasus Capital Advisors, which became AdAge's Global B2B Agency of the Year.
"David is a legendary leader with deep expertise and impeccable judgment. I'm honored he's joining our board," said Mike McCue, Flipboard's co-founder and CEO. "His first principles based approach to growing an innovative business in the advertising industry will be extremely valuable as brands increasingly regard our content discovery platform as a effective way to engage consumers and drive results."
McCue joins current board member John Doerr in welcoming Bell to the company, as Flipboard has become a top referrer to publishers and as brands look to drive similar results to their content with the platform.
"We wanted to strengthen our board's breadth of talent with a leader in media and advertising," said Kal Amin, Flipboard's president and chief operating officer. "David, whose career spans five decades in advertising and media, is a proven driver of growth and transformation. This could not be a more perfect match. He's also one of the most inspiring people I know, challenges the teams he works with to be the best they can be and has been a great mentor to me and others in the industry.”
Bell is one of the most prominent recent figures in advertising, being the only advertising executive to lead all four industry associations: American Associations of Advertising Agencies (4As), the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the Advertising Educational Foundation (AEF) and the Ad Council. He was also elected to the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2007 and was a senior adviser to Google and AOL's CEO Tim Armstrong during that company's turnaround.
"The world is at its best when storytelling is at its best," said Bell. "Thanks to Flipboard's platform technology, its deep understanding of content and its highly engaged global audience the company is well positioned to succeed. There is no other platform that consistently delivers highly valuable experiences for consumers, publishers and advertisers."