Levitan Leads AHAA Board.

The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) announced it’s 2003-2004 board of directors at AHAA’s conference in Dallas. Aida Levitan, Ph.D., co-chairman/CEO of Publicis Sanchez & Levitan, will lead the fast-growing organization as president and Manuel E. Machado, president & CEO, Machado Group, will serve as president-elect for this year and president for 2004-2005.

Elected to the executive committee of the Board are:

· President- Aida Levitan, Ph.D., co-chairman and CEO, Publicis Sánchez & Levitan
· President-elect – Manuel E. Machado, president & CEO, Machado Group
· Immediate Past-President and Parliamentarian – Ingrid Otero-Smart, president and COO, Mendoza-Dillon & Asociados
· Treasurer – Alex López Negrete, president & CEO, López Negrete Communications, Inc.
· Secretary – Rochelle Newman-Carrasco, principal & CEO, Enlace Communications, Inc.

I am very excited to work with AHAAs members to generate greater awareness of the power of the Hispanic market and how it can be effectively reached, said Aida Levitan, Ph.D., president of AHAA. Now, more than ever, it is important the we continue show corporate America that AHAA agencies and our members are the window of opportunity for them to grow in this market.

Elected to the Board for the first time:

· Patricia Gaitan, managing director and CEO, ZGS Communications Inc.
· Laura Marella, vice president media services and managing partner, Casanova Pendrill
· Gisela Girard, president & COO, Creative Civilization

Re-elected to the board are:
· Ray Arvizu, president & CEO, Arvizu Advertising & Promotions, Inc.
· Jackie Bird, president and CEO, WING Latino Group
· Tony Dieste, president, Dieste Harmel & Partners
· José López-Varela, vice president, Managing Director, Hill Holiday Hispanic

About AHAA:
The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (www.ahaa.org) is the national organization of firms that specialize in marketing to the nations 40 million Hispanic consumers, the most rapidly growing segment of the American population. AHAA promotes the strength of the Hispanic marketing and advertising industry to the private and public sectors.

AHAA agencies offer a unique blend of cultural understanding, market intelligence, proven experience and professionalism that deliver Hispanic market success for clients. AHAA helps organizations gain market share, increase revenue and grow profits by building the bridges and delivering the messages to reach Americas Hispanic consumers, who together have an estimated buying power of $630 billion.