Carla R. Michelotti
Board Director, Consultant and Retired Executive Vice President and Chief Legal, Government & Corporate Affairs Officer at
Leo Burnett Worldwide
Carla Michelotti has a distinguished record of business leadership, providing strategic legal and corporate marketing expertise. She is internationally recognized for having had key roles in developing advocacy strategies and policies for the marcom industry regarding commercial free speech; privacy; food and beverage advertising; intellectual property; digital issues; advertising regulation and self-regulation. During her primary career, Carla was Executive Vice President, Chief Legal, Government & Corporate Affairs Officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide, working directly with many of the world's most valuable brands including McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, Diageo, Hallmark, Pillsbury, Philip Morris, Altria, Kellogg, Samsung, and Coca-Cola. As a "C" Suite executive she helped the company and its multinational clients anticipate and navigate successfully through every type of challenge impacting brands, including "bet the company" litigation, management restructuring, merger and acquisitions, and negotiation of hundreds of multiple and varied agreements.
Carla is a past Chairman of the AAF, currently representing AAF on the BBB National Programs Board, and is also on the AAF Board as chair of the Government Affairs Committee. She is Self-Regulation VP of the International Advertising Association (IAA), and the Vice-Chairman of the Marketing Committee of the U.S. Council for International Business. She sits on several boards including DePaul University, the IAA; the International Council of Advertising Self-Regulators; Athena International; Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and NW Indiana; Junior Achievement of Chicago; and The House of the Good Shepherd. Carla is honored to be an American Bar and Illinois Bar Fellow. She is an active member of the American, Illinois, Chicago, and Justinian Bar Associations as well as The Economic Club of Chicago and The Chicago Network.
Carla is honored to have received numerous distinctions and awards, including induction into the AAF Advertising Hall of Fame, the Anti-Defamation League's Women of Achievement Award; the AAF Barton A. Cummings Gold Medal; the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) Best Practice Award; the Chicago Advertising Federation Silver Medal Award; the IAA Medal of Achievement; the IAA "Champion" Award; the Justinian Bar Association Award of Excellence; the DePaul Outstanding Service to the Profession Award; the Girl Scout's Tribute to Achievement Award. She was named Chicago Catholic Lawyer of the Year; Chicago "Ad Woman of the Year"; and listed in the "Today's Chicago Woman Hall of Fame".
Prior to joining Leo Burnett Company, Inc, Carla was an attorney with Jewel Companies, Inc.
She has a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in political science, a Juris Doctor (JD), and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree from DePaul University.