Shelly Lazarus

Shelly Lazarus rose through the ranks of Ogilvy & Mather assuming positions of increasing responsibility in the management of the company, including president of O&M Direct North America, Ogilvy & Mather New York, Ogilvy & Mather North America.

She became CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide in 1996. Shelly has been a frequent industry honoree. Advertising Women of New York selected Shelly as its Woman of the Year in 1994. She was honored by Women in Communications with their Matrix Award in 1995, was named Business Woman of the Year by the New York City Partnership in 1996, and Woman of the Year in 2002 by the Direct Marketing Association.

She has appeared in Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of America’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business since the list’s inception in 1998. She was the first woman to receive Columbia Business School’s Distinguished Leader in Business Award, as well as the Advertising Educational Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She is also a member of the Direct Marketing Association’s Hall of Fame.

Ms. Lazarus serves on many boards including General Electric, Merck, New York Presbyterian Hospital, World Wildlife Fund, American Museum of Natural History, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She is a member of the Board of Overseers of Columbia Business School where she received her MBA; and served for five years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Smith College, her alma mater.

She has also served as Chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

Shelly is the wife of Dr. George Lazarus, a New York pediatrician, and mother to their three grown children.