Introduction
John Gerzema is an American CEO and columnist who focuses on social sciences and the impact of leadership ethics and corporate culture on consumer behavior and financial performance. He has a particular focus on female leadership traits and competencies in modern-day leadership. He is Chairman and CEO of WPP Group’s BAV Consulting, overseeing the BrandAsset Valuator, a consumer and brand survey. He was named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Behavior 2014 by Trust Across America.
Book Author
The Brand Bubble
Gerzema is the author of The Brand Bubble: The Looming Crisis in Brand Value and How to Avoid It (John Wiley & Sons, Oct. 13, 2008), written with Ed Lebar, which documented the $4 trillion overvaluation of brands in companies in contrast to their declining perceptions in the consumer data.
Spend Shift
Gerzema’s book, Spend Shift: How the Post-Crisis Values Revolution Is Changing the Way We Buy, Sell and Live (Jossey-Bass, Oct 18, 2010), written with Pulitzer-Prize winner Michael D’Antonio, studied the strategies of companies to adapt to a consumer marketplace focused on ethics, integrity and values in post-recession America. Spend Shift appeared on the "best of" lists of The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Fast Company and the WEEK Magazine. The book became a TED talk, “The Post-Crisis Consumer.”
The Athena Doctrine
Gerzema’s book, The Athena Doctrine: How Women (And Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule The World, also written with D’Antonio, was published in April 2013. The book explores the rise of feminine traits and values in society, leadership, and business. The book is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller as well as a TEDx talk The book was the subject of an Inc cover story, "Between Venus and Mars: 7 Traits of True Leaders." In their research of more than 60,000 people in 13 countries, the authors found that “traditionally feminine leadership and values are now more popular than the macho paradigm of the past.” The research found that “two-thirds of people feel the world would be a better place if men thought more like women-including 79 per cent of Japanese men; 76 per cent of French and Brazilians and 70 per cent of Germans.”
Proceeds from the book benefit the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up campaign.
Columnist
Gerzema writes regular columns for the Huffington Post, Google Think Quarterly, Inc. (magazine), and PSFK.
Gerzema has written and been featured in numerous articles, including in such publications and websites as The Next Woman, The Daily Beast, Financial Times, Forbes, the Daily Mail, Inc. magazine and Fast Company.
Education
Gerzema received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from The Ohio State University in 1983 and his master’s degree in Integrated Marketing from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 1987. In 2014, Gerzema was inducted into the Medill Hall of Achievement.
Career
Campbell Mithun
Gerzema worked as an account supervisor at Campbell Mithun from 1987 to 1992, providing account services and brand management to a diverse array of blue-chip marketers.
Fallon Worldwide
Gerzema joined Fallon Worldwide, an international marketing company, in 1992. While there, he co-founded account planning at Fallon Minneapolis, served as planning director and managing partner of Fallon New York (1997-2000) and then oversaw Fallon’s global network, which included founding offices and completing acquisitions.
Young & Rubicam
In 2004, Gerzema joined Young & Rubicam as chief insights officer, overseeing oversees account planning, research, and analytics.
Burson Marsteller: BAV Consulting
In early 2011, Gerzema became executive chairman of BAV Consulting, a division of Burson Marsteller and the company that is responsible for BrandAsset® Valuator, the world's largest global brand database and management tool.
Advisory Role
Gerzema is a board adviser for University of the People, an NGO tuition-free university, Girl Up, a United Nations organization empowering girls to become global leaders and raising awareness and funds for United Nations programs that help the world’s hardest-to-reach adolescent girls, and the National Kidney Foundation. He is also a fellow with the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College.
Personal
Gerzema is married and lives in New York with his wife, Mary, an executive at Estee Lauder Companies, and daughter, Nina.