Ingrid Joins Anita.

Anita Santiago Advertising (ASA) has significantly added to its strategic expertise and account service capabilities with the appointment of industry veteran Ingrid Otero-Smart to the newly created position of president. Otero-Smart, who most recently served as president and chief operating officer of WPP’s Hispanic agency Mendoza Dillon, joins ASA founder Anita Santiago to form a powerful leadership team.

Throughout their impressive careers, both Otero-Smart and Santiago have been recognized with numerous industry awards, honors and board positions. Otero-Smart will lead the agency and manage client services, while Santiago remains chief executive officer. Together they will continue to build upon ASA’s reputation for exceptional creativity and account service while strategically adding to the agency’s roster of distinguished blue-chip accounts.

“Like Anita, I have spent most of my professional life in this industry and have witnessed its remarkable growth first-hand,” said Otero-Smart. “When I began exploring my options for the next chapter of my career, I knew the single most critical factor was to find someone whose strategic vision of Latino marketing and its future was the same as mine. I am convinced I’ve found that in Anita and ASA.”

In her 18 years with Mendoza Dillon, Otero-Smart held several key senior positions, including the last five as president and chief operating officer. At MD she built the business, leading both client services and the agency’s new business efforts. Accounts she managed included Ford, Sears, Kraft, Unilever, HSBC, Orlandi Valuta, Kia, Sprint and Cingular Wireless. She joined Mendoza Dillon from McCann-Erickson, where she excelled in multiple positions working on accounts including Nestlé, General Motors, Hilton and Del Monte.

“Ingrid is a one-of-a-kind executive, and we are extremely fortunate that the timing of our decision to add a significant leader to the team coincided with her search for the next challenge,” said Anita Santiago. “She is the consummate proven professional — a recognized leader among leaders in the Hispanic marketing industry. Her impeccable reputation, professional integrity, extraordinary credentials and remarkable accomplishments are well known. More importantly, as all who know her will tell you, she is a genuinely warm, authentic woman of grace and dignity. With Ingrid here, ASA will significantly enhance its ability to offer the very best to our clients in terms of account service and strategic marketing.”

Otero-Smart has served as both a member of the board and president of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies. She is a former board member of the American Lung Association and the CPI Corporation and is currently on the board of advisors for the Center for Integrated Marketing Communications at San Diego State University and the Mariposa Women’s Center. She is a former member of the board of the U.S. Hispanic Family of the Year and the Youth Motivation Task Force.

She has twice been named as one of the “100 most influential Hispanics in the U.S,” recognized in the “Who’s Who of Hispanic Americans,” and was a finalist for the Hispanic Ad Executive of the Year in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.

The announcement is the second aggressive and significant business move by ASA this summer, as it follows the recent launch of ASA’s Entertainment Marketing Division. The division, which is led by a key group of entertainment industry veterans, is committed to providing partner studios with comprehensive, targeted and custom Spanish- language marketing and advertising programs for all genres of film and home entertainment.

“The stature of the Hispanic market grows each day for businesses in every sector,” said Otero-Smart. “An audience of this importance demands the kind of commitment, expertise and insights that Anita and I have individually been providing over the years. Now, together, I can see no limit to what we will be able to deliver for our deserving clients.”