Charlotte Beers at Tatham
During the 1970's Charlotte Beers was always receiving calls from headhunters looking to place her in vice presidents slots, but she chose to be selective and wait for an opportunity at "genuine leadership." In 1979 Jerry Birn, Tatham's CEO called Charlotte Beers to work on their team as an integral player, he believed that Ms. Beers logical mind and take charge attitude would put the company back on track. At the time, Tatham was struggling with low employee morale and tenuous client loyalty.
Beers worked 18 hour days, six days a week for two years until the company was where she had envisioned it to be. In 1982 as a reward for her hard work and dedication, Beers was named chief executive officer when Birn left.
In the 1980's under Beers' leadership the company quadrupled agency business volume. Tatham was also known for its equal opportunities for women while Beers was at the throne, 54% of the companies management was female, putting Tatham well above the then industry standard of around 42%. Beers was also able to successfully guide the company into a merger with RSCG of Paris in 1988.
The same year, Beers was named the first female chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (the four A's). In 1991 when it was planned that Tatham RSCG would merge with Paris based Eurocom, Beers became vice chairman of the parent's company board. She was asked to move to Paris and opted in stead to move on.