The Hoboken Tax Reform Coalition
Mason inflates her corporate experience
http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&shva=1#inbox/1243980205d66b83
She worked for a firm (Friedman Benjamin) that only had $15MM in billings....hardly a fortune 500 company.
Levine, Huntley, Vick & Beaver Inc. was the other one of Beth's employers in advertising closed 1991 by its corporate parent, Grey Advertising Inc., after the loss of key accounts sent billings plunging at the once-hot New York agency. It was small firm of 120 employees at its max. It was held under Grey only briefly. Could Beth be "puffing" that she worked for a fortune 500 because the small agency where she worked was briefly bailed out by a large agency and then the acquisition failed?
Where is your 3rd party validation Ms. Mason? Your LinkedIn profile just has your name and that you are a consultant. Why no online resume? Is it not odd that a big time corporate consultant does not have a complete online profile?
The blow from which Levine, Huntley never recovered came in June, when its longtime and largest client, Subaru of America Inc., decided to move its $70 million account to Wieden & Kennedy in Portland, Ore. That was followed by other client defections, which sliced billings to $50 million from more than $200 million, and several rounds of layoffs. 'Nobody Would Have Believed It'
Grey, which bought Levine, Huntley in 1985, said it would attempt to combine Levine, Huntley with its Grey New York office and keep as many accounts and employees as possible.
"I just thought back and said, 'Twenty years, from beginning to end,' " said Harold Levine, the agency's chairman and a founder, in a telephone interview yesterday. "Two years ago, nobody would have believed it."
Mr. Levine added that he intended to amend the advice he planned to give in a speech last night to students from "how to start an ad agency" to "how to start -- and how to finish."
The end began in the last few days, said Edward H. Meyer, chairman and president of Grey, when Edward H. Vick, who joined the agency in February as president and chief executive, "walked into my office and said, 'This agency has hit an iceberg and I don't think it's a viable entity.' " 'Overwhelmingly Dependent'
Mr. Vick said that he "knew that it was a tough job when I took it on," but that what he did not know "was how overwhelmingly dependent the agency was on Subaru."
What is to become of Levine, Huntley's 49 remaining employees -- down from 120 as recently as June -- depends upon which of the agency's clients can be persuaded to transfer their accounts to Grey New York, Mr. Meyer and Mr. Vick said.
Mr. Vick, who has a contract with Grey, said he was in discussions with that agency. Mr. Meyer said he would like to hire Mr. Vick and Rochelle Klein, the senior vice president and executive creative director of Levine, Huntley.
The accounts still at Levine, Huntley included Maidenform, which presents a conflict with Grey's Playtex account; the Ethan Allen furniture retail chain; Panasonic, which is expected to be combined with the larger Panasonic accounts at Grey, and Ray-Ban, for which Levine, Huntley employees have been shooting 1992 Olympics advertising in Los Angeles this week. Founder Goes to Dreyfus "
An account also in question is that of the Dreyfus Corporation. Robert H. Schmidt, another founder of Levine, Huntley, joined Dreyfus in January as head of marketing.
Mr. Levine faulted Mr. Schmidt for not developing a successor who could have taken over the agency. "Ed Vick knocked his brains out," Mr. Levine said, "but you could not bring someone in cold."
Another problem, Mr. Meyer said, was Levine, Huntley's continuing operating losses, which totaled "several million dollars," according to Grey's third-quarter earnings statement, which was released yesterday. There could be significant additional charges in the fourth quarter, he added.
Photo: Edward H. Vick, president and chief executive of Levine, Huntley, Vick & Beaver. (William E. Sauro/The New York Times)
She worked for a firm (Friedman Benjamin) that only had $15MM in billings....hardly a fortune 500 company.
Levine, Huntley, Vick & Beaver Inc. was the other one of Beth's employers in advertising closed 1991 by its corporate parent, Grey Advertising Inc., after the loss of key accounts sent billings plunging at the once-hot New York agency. It was small firm of 120 employees at its max. It was held under Grey only briefly. Could Beth be "puffing" that she worked for a fortune 500 because the small agency where she worked was briefly bailed out by a large agency and then the acquisition failed?
Where is your 3rd party validation Ms. Mason? Your LinkedIn profile just has your name and that you are a consultant. Why no online resume? Is it not odd that a big time corporate consultant does not have a complete online profile?
The blow from which Levine, Huntley never recovered came in June, when its longtime and largest client, Subaru of America Inc., decided to move its $70 million account to Wieden & Kennedy in Portland, Ore. That was followed by other client defections, which sliced billings to $50 million from more than $200 million, and several rounds of layoffs. 'Nobody Would Have Believed It'
Grey, which bought Levine, Huntley in 1985, said it would attempt to combine Levine, Huntley with its Grey New York office and keep as many accounts and employees as possible.
"I just thought back and said, 'Twenty years, from beginning to end,' " said Harold Levine, the agency's chairman and a founder, in a telephone interview yesterday. "Two years ago, nobody would have believed it."
Mr. Levine added that he intended to amend the advice he planned to give in a speech last night to students from "how to start an ad agency" to "how to start -- and how to finish."
The end began in the last few days, said Edward H. Meyer, chairman and president of Grey, when Edward H. Vick, who joined the agency in February as president and chief executive, "walked into my office and said, 'This agency has hit an iceberg and I don't think it's a viable entity.' " 'Overwhelmingly Dependent'
Mr. Vick said that he "knew that it was a tough job when I took it on," but that what he did not know "was how overwhelmingly dependent the agency was on Subaru."
What is to become of Levine, Huntley's 49 remaining employees -- down from 120 as recently as June -- depends upon which of the agency's clients can be persuaded to transfer their accounts to Grey New York, Mr. Meyer and Mr. Vick said.
Mr. Vick, who has a contract with Grey, said he was in discussions with that agency. Mr. Meyer said he would like to hire Mr. Vick and Rochelle Klein, the senior vice president and executive creative director of Levine, Huntley.
The accounts still at Levine, Huntley included Maidenform, which presents a conflict with Grey's Playtex account; the Ethan Allen furniture retail chain; Panasonic, which is expected to be combined with the larger Panasonic accounts at Grey, and Ray-Ban, for which Levine, Huntley employees have been shooting 1992 Olympics advertising in Los Angeles this week. Founder Goes to Dreyfus "
An account also in question is that of the Dreyfus Corporation. Robert H. Schmidt, another founder of Levine, Huntley, joined Dreyfus in January as head of marketing.
Mr. Levine faulted Mr. Schmidt for not developing a successor who could have taken over the agency. "Ed Vick knocked his brains out," Mr. Levine said, "but you could not bring someone in cold."
Another problem, Mr. Meyer said, was Levine, Huntley's continuing operating losses, which totaled "several million dollars," according to Grey's third-quarter earnings statement, which was released yesterday. There could be significant additional charges in the fourth quarter, he added.
Photo: Edward H. Vick, president and chief executive of Levine, Huntley, Vick & Beaver. (William E. Sauro/The New York Times)
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Adrienne Choma on -
Beth seems to be having memory problems, for sure. Although I was not aware of which agency Beth worked for in the late 80's, the last job I am aware that she held down was as a principal of a two-woman agency operating out of 720 Monroe Street (also hardly Fortune 500). Beth told me herself that the firm folded because her partner took all the money and ran out on her. How does this experience speak to Beth's being "more qualified to manage Hoboken's $100 million budget" as she claims in her last flyer? And, what does it say about her ability to select good people to align herself with?
Another inflation of fact is Beth's claim that she started The Historical Hudson Street Coalition. Admittedly, she joined the cause in the early days of organization and did, in fact, contribute significantly. But, she was not one of the original organizers of the group.
I guess that Beth believes that her old friends and neighbors have no memory. Perhaps it's just an extension of her belief that everyone around her is stupid enough to believe the BS she puts out on her offensive flyers and ads. I don't know many folks who are falling for it.
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Permalink Reply by npincus on
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More... Beth Mason's firm, Friedman Benjamin, Inc.,was SUED by Gilette for making unsubstantiated claims about it's product... and Mason's company LOST. They paid a hefty fine to Gilette as part of the ruling.
No wonder she simply touts her lofty titles while skipping her RECORD in these various executive positions. This is FAIR GAME since attacking DZ's qualifications has taken a central role in her own campaign. So. her performance is part of the conversation that she has started... those who live by the sword...
Funny, she is running the same campaign for mayor (unsubstantiated claims that Product 'A' is better than Product 'B') that got her firm into trouble back then.
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/26/business/the-media-business-adver...
"An apparently unprecedented ruling that an agency can be forced to pay damages in connection with false claims made in a client's advertising caught the agency involved off guard and sent lawyers scrambling to assess its potentially chilling effects.
"We were really surprised," Elizabeth Mason, president of Friedman Benjamin Inc., said in her first interview since the ruling on Friday by United States District Judge Kimba M. Wood in New York.
"We felt we took every precaution possible to make sure our claims were substantiated," she added, referring to the content of the ads that were the subject of the ruling, for the Ultra Glide razor and blades made by Wilkinson Sword Inc. "I don't know what else we could have done."
The ruling followed an order by Judge Wood in October that Wilkinson Sword pay $953,000 in damages to the Gillette Company, whose Atra Plus blades were deemed inferior in the ads. Her latest ruling was that Friedman Benjamin was just as liable and should be included in the damage award."
http://www.dualcobdawn.info/
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Permalink Reply by Gene on
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Adrienne Choma said:Beth seems to be having memory problems, for sure. Although I was not aware of which agency Beth worked for in the late 80's, the last job I am aware that she held down was as a principal of a two-woman agency operating out of 720 Monroe Street (also hardly Fortune 500). Beth told me herself that the firm folded because her partner took all the money and ran out on her. How does this experience speak to Beth's being "more qualified to manage Hoboken's $100 million budget" as she claims in her last flyer? And, what does it say about her ability to select good people to align herself with?
Another inflation of fact is Beth's claim that she started The Historical Hudson Street Coalition. Admittedly, she joined the cause in the early days of organization and did, in fact, contribute significantly. But, she was not one of the original organizers of the group.
I guess that Beth believes that her old friends and neighbors have no memory. Perhaps it's just an extension of her belief that everyone around her is stupid enough to believe the BS she puts out on her offensive flyers and ads. I don't know many folks who are falling for it.
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Permalink Reply by Gene on
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Go get her Adrienne! BS does not stand a chance when you are on the case.
I say we throw all of them out if they give even one nickel in raises with the unions. I am down South and I pass factory parking lots either closed or less than half filled. The poor people who work in them would gladly take the Hoboken jobs with their gold plated health care!
Adrienne Choma said:Beth seems to be having memory problems, for sure. Although I was not aware of which agency Beth worked for in the late 80's, the last job I am aware that she held down was as a principal of a two-woman agency operating out of 720 Monroe Street (also hardly Fortune 500). Beth told me herself that the firm folded because her partner took all the money and ran out on her. How does this experience speak to Beth's being "more qualified to manage Hoboken's $100 million budget" as she claims in her last flyer? And, what does it say about her ability to select good people to align herself with?
Another inflation of fact is Beth's claim that she started The Historical Hudson Street Coalition. Admittedly, she joined the cause in the early days of organization and did, in fact, contribute significantly. But, she was not one of the original organizers of the group.
I guess that Beth believes that her old friends and neighbors have no memory. Perhaps it's just an extension of her belief that everyone around her is stupid enough to believe the BS she puts out on her offensive flyers and ads. I don't know many folks who are falling for it.
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Permalink Reply by John Koppisch on
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Donna is completely spot on about Beth's resume. She's run two races for city council and two for mayor and I've
always thought her resume was very murky. There's no evidence she's had meaningful work experience in more than 15 years but she keeps saying she's been a consultant to paper that over. Like Donna I also checked her Linked In profile, and I looked for the website for her supposed consulting practice. There's nothing there. Whoever heard of trying to run a consulting practice without even a website? How would clients find her? And what would qualify her to be a management consultant? She was a mass communications major at VCU.
As for back in the '80s when she did work full-time, she never gives enough details. In her TV commercials, her ads and her writeup in the Reporter this week, she says repeatedly that she was a "corporate manager for a Fortune 500 company," but she never says which company. If it was that big of a company than it must be worth naming. Donna wonders whether Beth means Grey Advertising, but Grey was not in the Fortune 500. And what does she mean by "corporate manager?" Who in business talks like that? I've never heard a title like that and I've worked for three Fortune 500 companies. Beth's unfamiliarity with corporate terms and phrases undermines her claim to business and executive experience.
During her various campaigns she's mentioned telecom MCI/Worldcom and airline TWA and the details always change. Did she work for them? Did she help do ads for them? Did she do consulting for them? Whatever she did it didn't work--both companies went bankrupt many years ago, one after a massive fraud. And what's all this about being a vice president of a NYC ad agency at 28 and a president of another NYC agency at 31? Beth's never named these agencies and it's obvious why, given the information from Donna and Adrienne here. And if Adrienne is right and the agency where she was president was on Monroe Street in Hoboken, then it was hardly an "NYC ad agency."
In her Hoboken Reporter ad last week she suddenly revealed that she had been "elected president of the 35,000 member student body" at VCU. Maybe so, but I don't remember this very relevant part of her resume ever being
mentioned before--and she hasn't mentioned it since--and so of course we're very skeptical. And VCU has only 32,000 students now; it had 22,000 in 1998 (as far as I can google) and probably had 10,000-15,000 back when she graduated in 1984.
One more thing: On her campaign website, she says she "has completed postgraduate studies with Harvard's JFK School of Government, NYU Stern School of Business and Milano School of Public Policy." What does she mean by "completed?" Did she earn the degree or not? Her bio on the city hall website appears to provide an answer. There she says: "She is pursuing a master¹s degree in urban policy at Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy.... Her advanced studies also include courses at New York University's Stern School of Management and Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government." So "completed studies" for her seems to mean taking a few courses. Why do politicians think no one will find out when they exaggerate or make up things on their resume?
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Permalink Reply by Hudson Shark on -
Hey Donna when was the last time you had a job?
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Permalink Reply by InfotainMe on
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Hey shark, I saw this on NJ.com.
http://www.nj.com/forums/hoboken/index.ssf?artid=87137
http://www.nj.com/forums/hoboken/index.ssf?artid=87138
I don't think coming out against pumpkin picking is the right way to stage your comeback.
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Permalink Reply by georgia on
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How would that be relevant? Donna is not trying to deceive us by inflating/lying about her resume in order to grab a position of power. The focus here is to ensure that our politicians are telling the truth when they seek public office.
Hudson Shark said:Hey Donna when was the last time you had a job?
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Permalink Reply by Sheilah Scully on -
Thank you for this and the below information. Her resume seemed oddly vague to me as well.
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