Mark Goldstein has spent his entire career in the advertising agency business where he’s worked with marketers in virtually every business category, from fast food companies to national retailers to global marketers including automotive manufacturers, financial services, healthcare, technology and telco’s. 

Called “the guru of new business” by The Wall Street Journal, Mark was the first agency person to ever hold the title of Chief Marketing Officer, and is among the 2 or 3 most successful new business developers in advertising agency history, having lead or written pitches resulting in over $7B of new business billings.

In 2010, (along with his role as Vice Chairman at BBDO) he launched a new business consultancy called Eleven.  The goal of Eleven was to work with CEOs of agencies and sales-oriented corporations to create a culture of winning inside their companies.  The business was so rewarding (intellectually and fun-wise) that in 2012 Mark made a full-time commitment to growing it.  

Eleven’s current client list includes four holding companies, three global advertising and media networks, and two world-famous creative boutiques.

He joined BBDO in March of ‘05 with a single goal:  leverage BBDO’s incredible creative and business skills to grow the agency beyond anyone’s expectations.  In seven years as Vice Chairman/CMO, he helped BBDO gain over $5 billion of billings as well as multiple Network of The Year recognition from AD AGE, ADWEEK, and Campaign.  He led and wrote the winning Omnicom holding company pitches for such clients as Bank of America, Motorola, Lowe’s, and the global business for HP, Mercedes-Benz and J&J’s Baby franchise.  At BBDO he served on the Worldwide, North American and New York Boards.

Before BBDO, he was Chief Marketing Officer at Fallon Worldwide from 1993 until the summer of 2004. He was the driver of the agency’s successful new business efforts (growing from $185mm in billings to almost $1bb), and doubled as the head writer of the presentations that charged Fallon’s substantial growth. The wins includes brands with no reason to hire an agency in Hennepin County, MN, such as Citi, BMW, Sony, Nordstrom, Holiday Inn, United Airlines, Qualcomm, Nikon, and others.  In the mid 90’s Mark wrote what BMW considered the definitive description of their customer, which continues to drive all marketing communications today.

Mark grew up as a writer and copy supervisor at Leo Burnett before becoming creative director and then agency president at Earle Palmer Brown, where he helped grow the agency from $3 million to $410 million in billings.  

In recent years Mark synthesized all his new business experience into a two-day executive workshop , that’s been called “head and shoulders above any new business training imaginable” by the Director of BBDO University.  These workshops have been held on four continents and all with the same result:  agency CEOs and CMOs go back home and their win rate increases dramatically.  Better yet, their agencies function with more enthusiasm and collaboration.

Mark is also Chairman, Americas, of Grace Blue, the advertising industry’s leading global C-level search firm.

Advertising Age named him to their inaugural “40 Brightest Under 40” –back when he was under 40.  He has served on the board of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism since 1992. And in April of 1997 he was a member of the inaugural group inducted into Medill’s Hall of Achievement. And Mark served for six years on HP’s Executive Board of Advisors for its Imaging and Printing Group.

Mark received a BSJ and MSJ in advertising from Northwestern University.  He lives in Naples FL with his wife Linda. His favorite things are collecting contemporary art, listening to music at high volumes, and not talking to his seatmate on airplanes.