Jim Speros' dad once advised him "When you're young you have the teeth and no bread. When you're old, you have the bread and no teeth. Pick a time when you have enough of both and go out and enjoy yourself." That's good counsel for a man who grew up in the South Bronx, worked his way
through college at Baruch, attended the Fuqua School of Business Executive Development Program at Duke, and who has worked long, long hours as Brand Management and Marketing Communications VP in virtually every business unit at AT&T where he spent 19 years and, for the
past six years, as chief marketing officer at professional services firm Ernst & Young.
Ernst & Young's Jim Speros with Jack Myers at Michael's
Jim stepped down last year after completing a two-year term as chairman of the Association of National Advertisers. During his tenure, he oversaw a change in ANA management and a revitalization of the
organization and its annual conference, which has once again become a pivotal event for marketers and advertising industry leaders, growing from 230 attendees three years ago to 700 last year. Jim is soft-spoken, mild
mannered and good-natured. But make no mistake. On the streets of the Bronx he learned to be a tough street fighter and an aggressive competitor. He played stickball, basketball and tennis, but his best game was paddleball, at which he was ranked fifth in the United States when he was 17. His dad, who passed
away at 87, was a Golden Gloves boxer who won 57 of 60 fights and then opened a luncheonette in the North Bronx. (His Mom, at 94, still lives in the family house in Pelham Bay.)
Jim says the most formative event in his life was when he was only eight years old and his dad, who rarely yelled, "sat me down, looked me in the eyes and yelled loudly, 'the most important thing I ever gave you is
your name Speros. Don't ever forget it!" Jim recalls he ran away crying, not understanding why he was being yelled at, and his Dad didn't comment on it again until ten years later when Jim was accepted as the first Speros to go to college. "My Dad told me how proud he was and asked
me if I remembered the time he yelled at me ten years earlier. Of course, I did. He said he knew I would be somebody one day and he wanted me to be sure that anytime I attached my name to anything that I always
made sure it would be the best it could be. I was representing generations before me and I should always bring pride and honor to them and myself. It took him ten years to get to the punch line, but it has always stayed with me."
"Parents are memory-makers," Jim believes. He and Noreen, Jim's wife for 27 years, have two grown daughters, one at Gettysburg College and the other working for the Advertising Council. "Our hope is to
create fond memories for them and to instill and reinforce the lessons we've learned. But," he adds, "it gets more difficult with each successive generation. Kids don't go through the school of hard knocks. They are more privileged today. My dad used to say that children are like young saplings and
parents are like stakes in the ground to help the sapling grow straight. If you build the appropriate root system, you can take the
stakes away and no matter how the winds of life may blow, the tree will stay straight."
Jim brings the same moralistic and spiritual set of beliefs to his work. "A fundamental issue is how we maintain a strong root system in our business and stay connected to consumers as technology and
demographic shifts create discontinuity in the industrys fundamental business model. We're witnessing a shift in control from 'content distributors' to 'content recipients' and an increasingly complex and fragmented media environment. At the same time, marketers are losing sight of the basics
and giving too much attention to one-off marketing ideas. The average chief marketing officer has only 23 months in the job and is looking for quick hits. We need to get back to clear, focused, consistent marketing programs
that are driven by big ideas and have continuity and sufficient spending to support them."
Jim's strong personal connection to his Greek heritage (he was "knighted" by the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church for his outstanding lifetime achievements) is reflected in his belief that marketers
must also respond to the "multi-culturalization of America." There are 90 million multi-cultural consumers, he points out. "That's more than the population of the U.K or France. If you were mounting a global campaign, would
you skip a country like England or France," he asks. "Executives need to incorporate an appropriate level of ethnic sensitivity into their marketing campaigns." Jim is especially proud of the ANA award for multi-cultural
excellence, which he spearheaded, and the establishment of the ANA's multi-cultural committee, which he chaired.
If you've been in New York since the 1970s, you might have read about the young paddleball champion from the Bronx, or seen Jim Speros playing with his rock band at Barney Google's or Glen Island
Casino. You'll certainly recall the legendary AT&T "Reach Out and Touch Someone" campaign that Jim spearheaded. If you appreciate religious iconography, you might talk to him about his collection of Byzantine art. Or, you can discuss his emotional commitment to Laine's Angels, which
supports parents who are dealing with terminally ill children. And you'll find few marketing executives more available and willing to share insight and experience with all knowledge-seekers.
Everyday, Jim brings a commitment of excellence to his family, his work, his passions, and to professional marketing. It's a commitment rooted in an eight-year-old child's promise to an amateur boxer who
moved to America from his native Rhodes, where he raised melons and was a beekeeper. It's a commitment that crosses the span of generations. Jim Speros has brought honor to his ancestors, and future generations
will retain the spirit of his accomplishments.
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