David Bywater, president of Iowa City, Iowa-based distributor Bankers Advertising Company (PPAI 101972), has been named chair of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI), the state’s largest business networking organization. He is a longtime ABI board member and a well-known Iowa business leader. 

The election marks the first time a third-generation family member will chair ABI. Bywater's great-great grandfather and company founder, Samuel Wakefield Mercer, helped create the organization—then known as the Iowa Manufacturer's Association— and served as chair in 1907. David’s father, Bill Bywater, also of Bankers Advertising Company, served as chair in 1995.   

“We are proud of this legacy, and I have a passion for the work of this organization,” Bywater said in his remarks at the annual Taking Care of Business Conference last week in Iowa City. “In the coming year, we look forward to actively building on the best. Our goal is to continue the momentum currently helping to create opportunities in this state and build great, sustainable organizations that all stakeholders can be proud of.”

He will formally take up his post July 1 when the organization begins its new fiscal year.