Hilary Souter Elected President of ICAS

Wellington, New Zealand / Brussels, Belgium – 27 May 2025 – At the Annual General Meeting of the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS), held virtually on 27 May 2025, Hilary Souter, Chief Executive of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in New Zealand, was elected as the new President of ICAS.

Hilary Souter brings over two decades of leadership in advertising self-regulation to her new role. As Chief Executive of the ASA since 2005, she has played a pivotal role in promoting responsible advertising and ensuring industry compliance with high standards. As a founding contributor to ICAS, Hilary has served on the ICAS Executive Committee and as a Vice President since 2019. She also led the Working Group that helped set up the ICAS Global Think Tank. 

In her role as ICAS President, Hilary Souter will be supported by four Vice Presidents and eight Executive Committee members, all elected to serve a two-year mandate. The Vice Presidents are:

• Stephan Loerke, CEO of the World Federation of Advertisers
• Charo Fernando Magarzo, Deputy Director General of AUTOCONTROL, Spain
• Manisha Kapoor, CEO & Secretary General of ASCI, India
• Mary Engle, Executive Vice President, Policy at BBB National Programs, USA

In her remarks, Hilary paid tribute to her predecessor Guy Parker, who served as ICAS President for two terms. Under Guy’s leadership, ICAS expanded its global reach, strengthened stakeholder engagement with international bodies such as the UN and OECD, launched the ICAS Charter, and developed global guidance on environmental claims and influencer marketing. Guy also led the creation of the ICAS Global Think Tank together with ICAS Director Sibylle Stanciu which was inaugurated in September 2024 in New York City.

Reflecting on her appointment, Hilary Souter said:

I am honored to be elected President of ICAS. At a time when trust in advertising is more important than ever given the speed of technological developments, the role of strong and credible self-regulation is critical. I look forward to working with our diverse global network to strengthen our impact, support our members, and advance the important work of ICAS. I want to sincerely thank Guy Parker for his outstanding leadership and dedication in growing ICAS into the strong and respected organization it is today.

Founded as an independent organization in 2016, ICAS is a global network dedicated to promoting responsible advertising through effective self-regulation. It unites Self-Regulatory Organizations (SROs) from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas, alongside key industry stakeholders including the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), VoxComm, the International Advertising Association (IAA), the European Publishers Council (EPC), the World Out of Home Organization (WOO), the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA), and its European sister organization, the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA).

See here a list of the full ICAS Executive Committee.