W&M alumna recognized as Ad Club's "Industry Legend"


 

William & Mary alumna Beth Comstock ’82 was recognized on July 18 by The Advertising Club of New York as one of their 2017 Advertising People of the Year.

As part of the recognition, Comstock was honored with the “Industry Legend” award, which recognizes women and men who have made outstanding contributions to advertising, particularly in industry standards, creative excellence, and in responsibility in areas of social concern .

"Past recipient lists of this award read like a who's who in advertising — receiving this honor puts those individuals in a very elite group," said Ad Club president and CEO Gina Grilloin in the press release.

Comstock is GE’s first female vice chair, and leads GE’s grown and market-innovation initiatives, as well as its sales, marketing and communication functions. Prior to her current position, Comstock served as GE’s chief marketing officer.

During her time at NBC, she oversaw multiple digital media development and distribution projects, including the early development of hulu.com.

Comstock currently serves on the board of directors at Nike, Inc., and is trustee president of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. She has twice been named to Forbes’ list of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women,” in 2015 and 2016. She launched her career with an undergraduate degree in biology at William & Mary.

To read a previous interview with Comstock, check out the article “Bright Lights, Big Apple” in the summer 2016 W&M Alumni Magazine.