IPA’s deputy director general Raad to retire

John Raad, deputy director general of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising and director of media affairs for the past 22 years, is to retire next year.

A headhunter has been appointed to find a replacement for Raad, who is also company secretary of the agencies’ trade body.

Raad has played a key role in commercial negotiations with groups such as the actors’ union Equity. Most recently Raad settled a dispute over voiceover fees, and negotiated in the drafting of IPA policy statements on issues such as the moving of ITV’s News at Ten and the future funding of the BBC.

IPA director-general Nick Phillips says Raad played a pivotal role in developing high-level media policy and in the detailed skills of negotiation work.

He says: “He’s done an absolutely brilliant job. He has been the key figure in looking after IPA council, the media policy group and its offshoots, and the commercial policy production group and its offshoots.

“I have never had a finer colleague in all my career.”

Raad will leave the institute in February next year after handing over to his successor, whom the IPA hopes to appoint by October this year.

Before joining the IPA, Raad worked in advertising for Benton & Bowles and J Walter Thompson. He later moved to Warner Lambert Canada, General Foods and British Posters.