Outvertising Appoints Tash Beecher as CEO

​Outvertising, the volunteer-run LGBTQIA+ advocacy group, has appointed Tash Beecher (she/her) as its new CEO, succeeding Chris Dunne following the completion of his two-year tenure.

Tash steps into the role having previously served as creative co-director at Outvertising for the last two years. Alongside her new position, she is global and EMEA creative director at Syneos Health Communications. She was executive creative director at Pocc, and brings almost two decades of experience across creative communications. She is a proud WACL member, has created award-winning work for global brands and judged some of the industry’s leading creative awards, including D&AD, Cannes Lions, the Effies and Clio Health.

As CEO, Tash will build on the success of Outvertising’s work over the last two years, from the Advocacy Playbook and Mentoring Programme to its flagship Outvertising Live event. Drawing on her creative experience, she will focus on expanding Outvertising’s influence in the industry and wider culture, championing LGBTQIA+ perspectives in the conversations shaping advertising’s future.

Her appointment comes at an important moment for LGBTQIA+ inclusion. With brands and employers navigating an increasingly complex landscape, Outvertising will continue to bring the industry together around its mission to drive LGBTQIA+ representation and inclusion, while equipping brands and agencies to turn their commitments into meaningful action.

Tash Beecher, CEO of Outvertising, said, “I am honoured to have been selected to take up the position of CEO - and I’m particularly proud to be the first creative leader to take on this challenge. Chris has laid an excellent foundation for this next era of Outvertising and I believe now is the time for the organisation to become the champion of pure creative intersectionality, with a specific focus on Black and Brown LGBTQIA+ inclusion which has been so often and continues to be made diminutive.

There’s an open hostility to diversity and equality along with a massive anti-black rhetoric in so many of the world’s spaces. This hostility is lethal to queer and Black lives, and in turn, to creative health. Beyond our role as salespeople and tastemakers, we have the power and a responsibility in our industry to ensure that diverse thinking and inclusion in all forms is upheld as the truest measure of creativity.”

Mark Runacus MBE, chair of Outvertising, said, “I am thrilled to welcome a leader of Tash’s creative calibre to steer our next chapter. As the advertising and marketing ecosystem undergoes radical and rapid technological change, Tash’s vision will be pivotal in keeping us focused on driving effective queer inclusion in advertising through world-class creative work and building stronger, deeper relationships with brand partners.