Raitt to step down as DMA chair next month

Eugene Raitt, the Direct Marketing Association's chairman of the board, will resign his position on May 10.

Raitt, who was elected board chairman last October, cited a work commitment in stepping down, said Sue Geramian, the group's SVP and chief communications officer.

A selection committee, which is in the process of reviewing possible replacements, will present its candidate to the full board on May 11. The committee consists of Raitt; Robert Allen, the interim president and CEO of the DMA; Kelly Browning, EVP and COO of the American Institute for Cancer Research; Donn Rappaport, chairman of ALC; and Joel Quadracci, president and CEO of Quad/Graphics.

Allen has served as the group's interim president and CEO since shortly after John Greco resigned from the post on January 19. The organization convened a search committee to find his replacement the same day.

Ramesh Lakshmi-Ratan, the DMA's former EVP and COO, resigned from the group last September. He now leads a division at Pitney Bowes.