4A’s Foundation appoints Joe Erwin as new board chair
December 1, 2016
Career Marketing Executive Will Help Lead the Foundation into the Future
The 4A’s Foundation, the 501(c)(3) organization of America’s leading trade association representing the advertising agency business, today announced Joe Erwin has been named chairman of the board. The foundation, soon heading into its 20th year, provides support for multicultural students pursuing a career in advertising. Joe previously served as the board’s southern region director. He is president of Erwin Creates in Greenville, South Carolina, and co-founder and former president of Erwin Penland, one of the largest advertising agencies in the South. Joe succeeds Ed Wax, former CEO and chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising, as the 4A’s Foundation board chair.
Joe will take over the 4A’s Foundation in 2017 and will manage the evolution of Operation Jumpstart, the largest and oldest of the foundation’s eight funds. He will also oversee the ANA Multicultural Excellence Scholarship Fund (ANA), Bill Bernbach Diversity Scholarship (DDB), DigitasLBi Multicultural Scholarship (DigitasLBi), Collective Bill Caspare Memorial Fund (Collective), Helen Lansdowne Resor Scholarship (J. Walter Thompson), MAIP Alumni Fund (4A’s) and Project Act (4A’s).
Earlier this year, as president of Erwin Creates, Joe launched Endeavor, a new collaborative coworking community for creative services professionals in Greenville. A lifelong entrepreneur and mentor, Joe founded Clemson University’s Erwin Center for Brand Communications in 2012. He also created, and for seven years hosted, the national creativity conference Food for Thought while overseeing the pro bono work and diversity initiatives of the agency he founded in 1986, Erwin Penland. During his tenure, the agency, a 4A’s member since 1988, was recognized as one of the “Best Places to Work” by Advertising Age, PR News and the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and lauded for having one of the best internship programs in the country.
“We are excited to have Joe take on this prestigious role, and we look forward to seeing him lead the foundation into the future,” said Nancy Hill, president and CEO of the 4A’s. “Joe has extensive experience in the field, and his proven dedication to the 4A’s Foundation and to improving diversity in the industry made this decision easy.” Joe has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the South Carolina Special Olympics, the Governor’s Commission on Teacher Quality, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and Clemson University’s Erwin Center for Brand Communications.
About the 4A’s Foundation
Established in 1997, the 4A’s Foundation was created to galvanize the industry around improving the level of diversity within advertising and media agencies. For almost 20 years, the Foundation has been providing financial support to multicultural individuals studying advertising, media, and/or the creative arts, as well as resources to programs and initiatives in NYC that cover the following categories for the industry: Education, Employment, Outreach, Engagement and Retention. Simultaneously, it engages colleges, universities and recognized portfolio schools, which help identify high-potential students willing and able to make a difference in our community.
About the 4A’s
The 4A’s is the catalyst for bringing together the right people in the right places at the right time to address the advertising industry’s most critical business issues. It provides leadership, advocacy, guidance and community to its members and the industry at large, with proprietary access to the people, information and tools needed to make smarter management decisions. Its mission is to help agencies become more successful. Visit the 4A’s at www.aaaa.org.
