• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, September 24, 2015

The ad industry's Trustworthy Accountability Group has tapped Rachel Nyswander Thomas to serve as senior vice president of operations and policy.

In her new role, Thomas will be tasked with developing compliance standards and overseeing an upcoming registration drive, says TAG CEO Mike Zaneis. She will join TAG from the Direct Marketing Association, where she served as vice president of advocacy and accountability.

Zaneis says that Thomas's hiring reflects TAG's focus on "building a business," including becoming economically self-sufficient.

As part of that effort, the organization will start registering agencies, marketers, publishers, ad networks and other businesses next month, Zaneis says. The registration fee will be $10,000.

Zaneis says he anticipates the largest 150 brand marketers to register, as well as the major agency holding companies, 45 ad networks and exchanges, and around 75 of the largest publishers. Zaneis adds that "small companies" will be exempt from registration dues; TAG hasn't yet said what it considers a small company, but Zaneis says the group is considering defining the term as companies with less than $2 million in ad revenue.

TAG -- created last year by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Association of National Advertisers, and the Interactive Advertising Bureau -- seeks to tackle issues like online ad fraud, piracy and malware.

TAG has already issued standards aimed at combatting some of those problems, but hasn't yet fully developed its compliance and enforcement programs. Thomas will oversee some of those efforts, including developing guidelines for how companies can meet TAG's expectations.