Howard Draft

Howard Draft (born December 28, 1953) is Executive Chairman of FCB (Foote, Cone & Belding), formerly Draftfcb, a global marketing organization whose clients include Kraft Foods, KFC, and Taco Bell. He is known as a pioneer in direct marketing and was named Direct Marketer of the Year in 1999 by Direct Magazine.

Draft began his career as an account executive at a direct marketing agency called Kobs & Brady in 1978. He then worked his way up to become Chairman and CEO in 1988. After a management buyout the agency was renamed Draft Direct Worldwide and purchased by the Interpublic Group.

In 2006, Draft merged with agency Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) and became Draftfcb with Howard Draft named as Chairman and CEO. Then in 2009, it was announced that Howard Draft would assume the title of Executive Chairman. In March 2014, Draftfcb changed its name to FCB.

In 2007, Draft was elected to the board of directors of the Ad Council and was named among "The 50 Who Matter Now" by CNN Money. In 2008, he was asked to be Jury President for the Direct Lions at the International Advertising Festival in Cannes and was the keynote speaker at Northwestern University’s 2008 commencement ceremony for students receiving their Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications. In 2010, Draft was named the first-ever honorary chairman of the ROI Festival in China.

He is a supporter of philanthropic organizations benefiting children, including Chicago’s After School Matters and Pediatric AIDS Chicago. He serves on the board of directors for the Alese Coco Fight 2 Win Foundation, is a trustee of Francis W. Parker School and an outside Director of OptionsXpress Holdings, Inc.

• Recipient of the Mac Dane Award for Humanitarian Excellence by the UJA-Federation of New York.
• 2010 DMA Hall of Fame Inductee
• 2010 Chicago Advertising Federation (CAF) Silver Medal Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

• "Brian Perkins of Johnson & Johnson to Receive Global Leadership Award at UJA-Federation's Global Leadership Award Dinner," Marketwire 29 April 2010
• "DMA names Crain, Draft to hall of fame," BtoB Magazine 7 July 2010
• "Howard Draft to be honored with Chicago Ad Federation's Silver Medal," Chicago Sun-Times 16 September 2010