Kissel to speak at 2018 Convocation
The College of Media is pleased to announce that Dave Kissel, a 1985 journalism graduate, will be the alumni speaker at the College of Media Convocation ceremony on Sunday, May 13, 2018. He has built a distinguished career in marketing, advertising and sports for Fortune 500 clients by leading high-impact teams at world-class agencies and media companies.
Kissel is currently a member of the senior management team of DDB, one of the largest and most awarded advertising agencies in the world, and a partner to McDonald’s Corporation in 44 countries. He is responsible for the global leadership and coordination of DDB’s worldwide McDonald’s relationships, helping each office deliver innovative strategy, content and experiences to measurably grow the McDonald’s brand and business.
He moved into DDB’s McDonald’s global role after having been a key architect and builder of Omnicom’s We Are Unlimited, called by The Wall Street Journal as the “Advertising Agency of the Future;” an agency designed specifically for McDonald’s U.S. Dave helped establish the agency, source its talent, develop its first work and, as the agency’s Chief Delivery Officer, helped create the agency’s operating system and technology tools.
In addition, Kissel is currently a Strategic Advisor to, and the former CEO of, InStadium, a national Nielsen-measured sports media network consisting of 450+ pro and college teams. Under his leadership, InStadium transformed into a multi-media video and gaming platform for major brands. Prior to InStadium, he helped create and scale the award-winning agency Zócalo Group, Omnicom’s first dedicated social media agency, a division of Critical Mass.
A frequent speaker on sports marketing, advertising and social media, Kissel has more than 25 years of accomplishments and awards in sports media and marketing, is an advisor to Block Six Analytics, a sports-analytics technology company, and to the University of Illinois’ College of Media’s Executive Board. He lives in a northern suburb of Chicago with his wife and fellow Illini alumnus, Sue, and his three daughters.