Stephen became CEO of the Advertising Association (AA) in October 2016. The AA promotes the role and rights of responsible advertising and its value to people, society, business and the economy. The leading advertising trade bodies, commercial media owners and tech platforms are all members of the AA. The AA focuses on ad industry priorities, such as public trust in advertising, inclusion through the All In programme and sustainability, as the home of Ad Net Zero, which started in the UK and now extends internationally. The AA lobbies on behalf of the industry with Government and promotes the economic value of the industry through the ‘Advertising Pays’ reports. It is the home of Media Smart, the industry’s media literacy programme and the UK Advertising Export Group, promoting the UK’s world-leading exports performance.

Before the AA, Stephen held leadership roles in four agency groups (Leo Burnett, WCRS/Engine and DDB/adam&eveDDB and Next 15). He is a Governor of Ravensbourne University in London, the UK’s newest creative and technology university. He chairs The Debating Group, a cross-industry programme that hosts debates on industry issues in Parliament. He is a past President of NABS and serves on the board of the History of Advertising Trust. He was IPA President (2003-05) where he led both their first ethnic diversity initiative and launched its professional qualifications, which over 20,000 people have now passed in the UK and around the world.