Shelly Lazarus

Chairman Emeritus , Ogilvy & Mather

About This Expert

Before she stepped down as Chairman Emeritus of Ogilvy & Mather in the summer of 2012, Shelly Lazarus had worked for the international advertising agency building brands for clients for more than 40 years. She got her start in the industry in the 1970s, when there were very few ad women.

Her trademarks—clear branding and building close client relationships—have attracted some of the world’s most respected brands to Ogilvy, including American Express, Coca-Cola, Ford, IBM, and Unilever, among many others.

A frequent industry honoree, 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. Lazarus 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 serves on a number of boards, including General Electric, Merck, New York Presbyterian Hospital, World Wildlife Fund, the American Museum of Natural History, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.