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Kobek Named Interim President of American Teleservices Association

By Ed Silverstein
TMCnet Contributor

Robert Kobek has been named interim president of the American Teleservices Association (ATA) after CEO Tim Searcy left to take another post. Searcy is becoming CEO of Accent Marketing Services, a member of the MDC Partners Network. He was praised by his former colleagues.

“Tim has made tremendous contributions to our industry and for the advancement of the American Teleservices Association. His vision and oversight of the association has been instrumental and he has been a great leader with a superbly dedicated staff that engages our association with a passion,” ATA board chairman Phil Grudzinski said in a recent statement. “He will be missed but we congratulate Tim for all of his accomplishments."

Grudzinski added that Kobek has been affiliated with the ATA for several years and brings a “long history of contact center experience at all levels. Currently, he and his team are responsible for the successful operations of our annual conventions. As interim president, Bob will continue with convention operations with the added responsibilities of managing our daily operations,” Grudzinski said in an organization statement.

The ATA is believed to be the only non-profit trade association which promotes companies that use contact centers as an integral channel of operations, according to TMCnet.

Searcy will be responsible for leading and growing the company's engagement management business unit, according to an Accent Marketing Services statement. "In this new role, I look forward to working with MDC, our management team and employees to challenge the idea of the traditional call center by demonstrating its power to intelligently engage consumers across channels, influence behavior and monetize every interaction,” Searcy said in a company statement.