According to AIR — it was established in June 2020 — as a collective of advertising, marketing and tech recruiters who believe in the sharing of knowledge and expertise to create representation and belonging across the industry.

The group says that these goals are achieved through continual DEI education of its members, companies and clients through shared resources, tools, best practices and support programmes.

The organisation also has an education focus, introducing the creative industry as a future career option.

AIR has more than 100 recruiters as founding and active members, and more than 500 additional recruiters have taken the organisation's pledge to recruit in accordance with DEIC principles.

The move brings AIR under The One Club umbrella, providing the recruiting organisation with resources and infrastructure to broaden in scope and grow. The group says that it aims to continue to be run by its current leadership and board advisers.

According to the group, inclusion and diversity have long been one of The One Club's four pillars for programming. The organisation formed its One ID department in 2008 and established its annual Where Are All The Black People (WAATBP) Diversity Conference and career fair in 2011.

Other initiatives include the following:

"AIR aligns perfectly with our longstanding emphasis on DEI, and provides an important new complimentary dimension of service and support we can offer to the industry," says Kevin Swanepoel, CEO of The One Club. "It made so much sense to bring them on board because they're leading the way in DEI recruiting and share similar goals and principles."

AIR adds, "To be able to scale and build the proper infrastructure, we feel The One Club is both in sync with our mission and core values and will provide the additional support we need to continue to thrive. This move also provides the ability to reach a much larger audience."

AIR's leadership includes current partners:
  • Solange Collins, partner, talent acquisition lead of Blue Sky Talent
  • Tyler DeBoard, global director and partnerships of WPP
  • Mabel Liang, senior talent acquisition partner of Nike, and
  • Alexa Zonsius, senior director and creative talent of Genuine Search Group.

Founding partners / board advisers include the following:
  • Hillary Black, global lead of coaching and VP executive recruitment at WPP
  • Lionel Carreon, executive director and global creative recruiting at TBWA \ Worldwide
  • Michele Daly, founder and creative recruiter at The Daly Connective
  • Kim Easley, principal design recruiter at Airbnb
  • Daniela Herrera, director and recruitment operations and DEI at R / GA
  • Leslie Kay, founder and CEO at Kay & Black
  • James Kinney, global chief of talent discovery and diversity at MediaMonks
  • Ayana Picariello, director of creative operations and creative recruiter at Translation, and
  • Tammy Skuraton, lead recruiter and marketing at DoorDash.

The two organisations have a history of working together, most recently during Creative Week 2022 where AIR hosted the panel "From The Yard to The World: HBCU Grads in Advertising''.

AIR will also host workshops at The One Club's upcoming annual Where Are All The Black People (WAATBP) Diversity Conference and career fair, taking place between Thursday, 6 October and Friday, 7 October.

For more information, visit www.oneclub.org. You can also follow The One Club of Creativity on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.