Jani Yates is retiring from her role as president and CEO of Ad Standards.

Yates (pictured, above) informed the organization of her retirement plan when she joined the non-profit in 2016, and a succession plan had been in the works from that moment. With Yates’ departure, Catherine Bate – who joined Ad Standards in 2019 as chief legal and policy officer and corporate secretary – will assume the role of president and CEO. Yates says she has been working with Bate on a “smooth transition for our employees, members and board for over a year.”

A lawyer by trade, Bate (pictured, left) spent years in private practice establishing herself as one of the foremost minds in the areas of marketing, advertising and consumer product regulatory law. According to Yates, the two “share the goal of supporting industry through building trust in advertising.”

Yates has worked in the industry for more than four decades, starting her career in account services with agencies in Montreal, New York and Toronto. Prior to joining Ad Standards, she had worked at the Institute of Canadian Agencies (ICA) for almost 18 years, nine of those as president. In addition to that experience, Yates also has performed extensive volunteerism in the industry, as board chair for NABS and the AdClub of Toronto, a member of strategy‘s Marketers x Mentors advisory board and as board governor for the ACTRA Fraternal Benefits Society.

“Jani achieved so much of lasting value in the advertising industry. I am honoured to have the opportunity to build upon what she accomplished at Ad Standards,” says Bate. “Advertising self-regulation plays a crucial and unique role, sitting at the intersection of public, regulators and the advertising industry. As the only national self-regulatory organization, Ad Standards serves the entire advertising industry through its commitment to truthful, fair and accurate advertising.”