The International Advertising Association will be hosting its World Congress in Penang, Malaysia from March 6 to 8, 2024. This year's World Congress, entitled "Brand: Re-Code – Better World, Better Life," will focus on issues such as sustainability, artificial intelligence, and diversity.

There's a high-powered lineup of speakers from the brand and agency world coming to Penang, including Dean Aragon (CEO & Vice Chairman, Shell Brands International), Simon Cook, CEO, Cannes Lions), Daryl Lee (Global CEO, McCannn WorldGroup), Laura Maness (Global CEO, Grey), Ann Mukherjee (Chairman and CEO, Pernod Ricard), Sasan Saeidi (CEO, Wunderman Thompson), Carol Schuster (SVP Marketing & Business Information, Lafayette 148), and Tom Stein (Chairman and Chief Brand Officer, Stein IAS).

In IAA's role as a global compass on legal and policy issues, there will also global leaders in the public policy space speaking about how advertisers can best navigate the legal and policy challenges ahead, including Christine Guilfoyle (President, SeeHer), Maher Nasser (Director of the Outreach Division, United Nations), the Right Honorable Kojo Oppong Knrumah (Minister of Information, Ghana), and Sofia Paess (Data Policy Advisor, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Estonia).

At the World Congress, I'll be doing a "fireside chat" with Mediha Mahmood, the CEO of the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia, an independent advertising self-regulatory organization in Malaysia. We'll be covering the legal risks and challenges associated with advertisers' use of artificial intelligence and will discuss key regulatory developments and best practices.

It should be a great event. Please come join us in Penang!