Mary K. Engle Joins BBB National Programs as Executive Vice President, Policy

For Immediate Release

Contact: ­Amy Gwiazdowski, 703-247-9364 / agwiazdowski@bbbnp.org

Arlington, VA – February 3, 2020 – BBB National Programs, Inc. announced that Mary K. Engle joined the organization as Executive Vice President, Policy. Until January 31, 2020, she was the Associate Director of the Division of Advertising Practices at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Engle directed the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices for almost 19 years, enforcing truth-in-advertising principles for national advertising matters, including claims about food, dietary supplements, medical devices, alcohol, tobacco, and broadband. She also examined social media and digital technology marketing practices. Her investigations and law enforcement actions in this area helped create new policy and standards that are now used to govern influencer marketing, native advertising, and privacy cases.

Engle held several management positions at the FTC and served as an advisor to a commissioner and two directors of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. During her government career, she received several awards for her work including the Meritorious Executive Rank Award from President Obama for accomplishments in the management of U.S. government programs and the FTC Chairman’s Award for the Commission’s 2000 Media Violence Study and Report.

Recently, Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, praised Engle’s law enforcement actions and policy initiatives efforts have benefited consumers across the nation.

“After her distinguished service at the FTC, I am pleased to welcome Mary Engle to the BBB National Programs executive leadership team. Mary’s innovative work at the FTC has shaped fair business practices in national advertising policy and privacy initiatives and her work has helped create a better marketplace for consumers,” said BBB National Programs Chief Executive Officer, Eric D. Reicin.

“Through self-regulation, monitoring, and dispute resolution, we help businesses serve stakeholders as strong corporate citizens. Our programs enhance trust in the marketplace, improve the customer experience, and reduce the need for government involvement and further government regulation. The depth and breadth of Mary’s experience will help us expand our programs to benefit all stakeholders in the marketplace,” noted Reicin.

“Mary Engle has been a strong voice for consumers in national advertising policy for over 30 years, especially during technology-driven shifts to digital marketing. I enjoyed working with Mary when I was Acting Chairman and Commissioner of the FTC and am delighted to welcome her into a leadership role at BBB National Programs,” added Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Member, Board of Directors, BBB National Programs, partner, Baker Botts, and former Acting Chairman and Commissioner of the FTC.

“BBB National Programs is continually building trust through its programs and exemplary self-regulation work that is transforming the marketplace for the better. I am eager to join the leadership team and begin working with these well-known programs,” said Engle. “I look forward to enhancing the organization’s portfolio of programs and expanding on the work I have done to encourage self-regulatory policies and effective monitoring and dispute resolution programs to benefit both businesses and consumers.”

Before joining the FTC, Engle practiced law with a firm in Washington, D.C. She is a graduate of Harvard University and received her J.D. from the University of Virginia. In her former FTC role, Engle previously worked with BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division and other programs on case referrals. She has a deep understanding of the self-regulatory industry and how it enhances the broader marketplace experience for businesses and consumers.

BBB National Programs is where companies, industry experts and trade associations work together within a self-regulatory environment to address issues of national and global importance, and to foster industry best practices in truth-in-advertising, child-directed marketing, data privacy, and dispute resolution. BBB National Programs builds industry self-regulation programs encouraging innovation and competition while minimizing the need for government intervention.

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About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs fosters trust, innovation, and competition in the marketplace through the development and delivery of effective, third-party self-regulation, dispute resolution and other programs. BBB National Programs is the home of industry self-regulatory and dispute resolution programs that include the National Advertising Division (NAD), National Advertising Review Board (NARB), BBB EU Privacy Shield, BBB AUTO LINE, Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), Children’s Confection Advertising Initiative (CCAI), Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC), Digital Advertising Accountability Program (Accountability Program), and the Coalition for Better Advertising Dispute Resolution Program (CBA DRM). The programs are designed to resolve business issues and advance shared objectives by responding to marketplace concerns to create a better customer experience. To learn more about industry self-regulation, please visit: BBBNP.org.