TEANECK, NEW JERSEY

At 14, I wanted independence and started working in the tobacco fields in Tobacco Valley. If you broke a cigar leaf, it came out of your paycheck. Each leaf was four times daily pay.

It was a short-lived career.

UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT

I received my Bachelor of Arts in English education and went on to be a high school English teacher.

I thought I’d teach English forever, until I learned being around kids is really hard, and being around administrators is even harder.

KEILER ADVERTISING – MEDIA PLANNER

I started here as media coordinator but soon learned that if you smile and do the stuff your boss doesn’t want to do, you can become the star. I went on to be promoted to media buyer and then to media planner. I took on all the aviation and military media for Sikorsky Aircraft, which was one of the reasons I was promoted. Then, when one of the helicopters went down while trying to rescue Iranian hostages, I had to scramble and cancel all of the media scheduled at the 11th hour. Miraculously, we were able to pull all the ads – even the weeklies that were already on the press.

When our team for Pilot Pen won an Effie, it made all the hard work worthwhile.

The president of Duracell wanted to run his Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) design campaign in Business Week. I told him he couldn’t afford it on his $90,000 B2B budget. To my great surprise, we won the business anyway. What a relief. The lesson – people do appreciate honesty. People also appreciate well-marked ski trails. I once skied right off a 30-foot cliff while skiing Méribel, France, with my husband and sister-in-law. In my defense, a storm had hit and we were trying to ski through a whiteout. Due to all the snow, my fall was – thankfully – softened and I walked away without injury. Amazing, considering some days a fall from a standing position can hurt like hell.

BRANNBLAU – MEDIA DIRECTOR FOR NORTH AMERICA

My boss wanted a pitch deck for Merck Pharma within an hour. I spent a day searching for my “gem,” and my boss hated the strategy. I fought him on it, and when I presented to the client they all burst out laughing. My theory was their boss’s theory. We won the business.

$150 million direct-to-consumer (DTC) dollars.

All these years in the industry gave me plenty of material to work with when I started authoring the Donna Leigh mystery series, stories about the owner of an ad agency. All the “loosely based” stories they wouldn’t let me share here? In the books.

BOZELL – PRESIDENT, PARTNER IN CHARGE OF MEDIA

Being president, a media analyst and negotiator has taught me to be wary in entering any deal, to be able to analyze details, determine value and negotiate aggressively. I could tell you some stories, but then I’d have to kill you.

Words to live by: Just when you sit back with confidence and know that you’ve got it all figured out – the ceiling caves in.