Y&R Gives N.Y. to Kugelman

Rise to CEO From Research Associate Took 28 Years NEW YORK-Young & Rubicam's New York headquarters has a new chief executive, but Stephanie Kugelman is anything but new to the halls of 285 Madison Ave. Kugelman, 51, has spent her entire 28-year advertising career at the agency, beginning as a research associate and serving most recently as vice chairman and managing director, overseeing the estimated $350 million Sears account. She's also director of the Insights Group, the agency's research and planning division. Kugelman joined Y&R after a year of teaching kindergarten at an Episcopal school. Nearly three decades later, she takes the reins of the largest agency in New York, with $3.4 billion in billings and a staff of 2,000. Asked to describe her management style, Kugelman said, "I definitely believe that having an optimism, a passion and an integrity is important as far as enabling people" to do better. As for role models, she cited her colleagues: chief operating officer Ed Vick and New York chief executive officer Linda Srere. Those who have worked closely with Kugelman praise her collaborative approach to problem solving. "Stephanie has a mature vision. She's thoughtful and believes in the longer horizon in terms of strategy," said Mark Cohen, evp, marketing at Sears. "She's soft-spoken, very articulate and extremely intelligent." Known as a strategic thinker who works well with creatives, Kugelman played a role in several of Y&R's high-profile account wins in the 1990s, including Sony Electronics, United Airlines and Sears. She also was instrumental in raising the profile of account planning internally, transforming the research department into the Insights Group in 1991. Commenting on the pairing of veteran Kugelman with Jim Ferguson, who arrived this month as president and chief creative officer, North American chief executive Peter Stringham said: "She's very studied, very thoughtful-just the way you'd think a planner would be ... And Jim is a very quick-minded fellow. They're going to balance each other out that way." Kugelman's ascension comes at a time of change for the agency. Through a series of promotions and new hires, Y&R has installed a new crop of leaders, including worldwide chairman and chief executive Tom Bell, Srere, Stringham, Ferguson and now, Kugelman. At the same time, veteran leaders, such as John McGarry and Tim Pollak, have left, stock options in hand, after a successful initial public offering. Last week, each cashed in several hundred thousand shares as part of a secondary stock offering. A total of 15 million shares were offered at a price of $37.25 each. McGarry, the former Y&R Inc. president, who held 722,000 shares and vested options, now has 413,000. Pollak, the former worldwide director of client services, went from 626,000 to 361,000. Initially, Kugelman will focus on existing clients and filling vacancies within her ranks. Her first appointment is chief fiscal officer Mike Zeigler, 39, a former business manager at the agency who assumes the role long held by Tom McQueeney, who left. Next up: The search for successors to her old jobs as head of planning and main client contact on Sears. Along with Stringham, Bell considered two other finalists-one from a "hot shop" and one from an agency similar in size to Y&R. Both men were impressed by Kugelman's strategic smarts, team-building skills and appreciation for great creative work. "When it's all said and done, she's hard to beat," Bell said. While Stringham acknowledged there are different pressures associated with managing a public company, he said Kugelman "should be focused on doing great work for the clients and building the business, not worrying about whether the stock went up or down." That, he said, was the job of Vick and Y&R Inc. chief executive Peter Georgescu.

Brand Marketing

Y&R Gives N.Y. to Kugelman

Andrew McMains

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Andrew McMains