Charlotte Beers, who during her career served as chair of two of the top ten worldwide advertising agencies, will deliver the keynote address at the DMA Annual Conference in New Orleans on Monday, Oct. 18.
From 1999-2001, Beers was chair of J. Walter Thompson Worldwide, the agency in which she started her advertising career. She was chair and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather from 1992-1997.
“The achievements of Charlotte Beers are well recognized in the business community,” said DMA President & CEO John Greco, Jr. in a statement. “Throughout her career, she has distinguished herself as a pioneer whose dedication has led to outstanding accomplishments, not only within the advertising community, but on behalf of the United States.”
Beers’ career in advertising began in Houston, at Uncle Ben’s Rice, where she was the company’s first female product manager. She then became the first female senior vice president for J. Walter Thompson when she moved to the advertising business in Chicago during the 1970s. In 1988, she was the first woman in the 99 years of the American Association of Advertising Agencies to be named chair.
From 2001-2003, Beers served as the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs for the U.S. State Department. She was the driving force behind “Shared Values,” a public relations campaign organized by the U.S. State Department to combat anti-American sentiment in Arab countries. Upon her departure in the spring of 2003, Secretary Colin Powell awarded Charlotte Beers the Distinguished Service Medal; the State Department’s highest honor.
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