BtoB Online: Greco named to succeed Wientzen at DMA

John A. Greco Jr.

In a tight 180 degree turn, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) said that CEO H. Robert Wientzen would retire more or less on time and be replaced by John A. Greco Jr. Just last week, the DMA said that Wientzen would stay on, as the committee searching for a replacement could not agree on a candidate. Greco has a yellow pages background and has experience as the head of the Yellow Pages Integrated Media Association.

Several recent issues, among them the Do-Not-Call Registry and the DMA's botching in its determination of the definition of "spam," split the association into old school versus new school camps. Many telemarketers in particular felt disenfranchised when the DMA gave up the political fight against the DNC Registry. Online direct marketers felt disenfranchised when the DMA-owned Association of Interactive Marketers' efforts to distinguish spam from legitimate email marketing were quashed by DMA direct mailers. Greco, himself from the telemarketing field, told DM News that there was room for everyone in the direct marketing big tent.