Charles D. Peebler, Jr., Chairman Emeritus of True North Communications, Member of...

Charles D. Peebler, Jr., Chairman Emeritus of True North Communications,
Member of the Advertising Hall of Fame and Long-Time Advertising Industry
Leader, Dies at Age 72 After a Long Illness

NEW YORK, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Charles D. Peebler, Jr., retired chairman
emeritus of True North Communications and the former chief executive officer
of Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt, died on Saturday, April 18th at his home
in Palm Desert, California. He was 72.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090420/NY01969 )

A native of Waterloo, Iowa, Peebler began his advertising career in 1958 with
Bozell & Jacobs in Omaha, Nebraska and became the firm's president in 1965. He
went on to serve as Bozell & Jacobs' chief executive for more than 30 years --
longer than any other head of a major U.S. agency. In the process, Bozell &
Jacobs grew from being a small, patriarchal, family-owned Midwestern agency
with billings of barely $20 million into one of the world's leading marketing
communications enterprises, with headquarters in New York City and offices in
more than 50 countries. During his career, Peebler was directly involved in
the management of most of the firm's major accounts.

By 1997, following a long successful period of new client wins, mergers and
acquisitions, Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt stood as a worldwide agency
network in the top 10 in terms of size with billings of $4.3 billion. In
December of that year, True North Communications acquired BJK&E and Peebler
was named president of the merged company. He remained as president until
April 1999, when he became chairman emeritus. True North Communications was
later acquired by the Interpublic Group of Companies.

Peebler was inducted by his advertising peers into the Advertising Hall of
Fame in 2001. Peebler was chairman of the American Craft Museum, known now as
the Museum of Arts & Design. He was a driving force behind their immergence as
a cultural leader in New York and helped them secure a new building in 1986.
Peebler served on the boards of the American Association of Advertising
Agencies, the Advertising Council, the American Advertising Federation and as
chair of the Professionals in Advertising Political Action Committee. He
served on a number of corporate boards, most recently with Meredith
Corporation, Valmont Industries, Hotlink Inc. and Eos International, Inc.

Peebler often stated, "We need to pay rent for the space that we occupy on
earth." In that spirit, he also contributed actively to a large number of
non-profit organizations. He was a board member of such organizations as The
New York City Partnership and Chamber of Commerce, the Corporate Committee for
Central Park Conservancy and was a long-time board member of the Columbia
Presbyterian Medical Center.

Peebler attended Drake University and served on the university's board of
trustees. Peebler completed his career as a founder of Plum Capital, an
investment fund successful in the new media arena. Unlike many other leaders
of that era who sold their businesses and reaped hundreds of millions of
dollars for themselves, Peebler and his employees shared the benefits from the
sale of BJK&E and in the process about 70 of those employees were made
millionaires.

Upon retirement Peebler and his family moved to Palm Desert, California where
he served on the boards of the Eisenhower Medical Center, the McCallum Theatre
and the Eldorado Country Club.

While in his 60s, Peebler was diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a
rare and invariably fatal brain disorder. Typical of Peebler, in response to
adversity he founded and served as president of the Peebler PSP Research
Foundation, Inc., that funded more $2 million of research in PSP, the disease
that claimed his life. He also served as a member of the board for the Society
for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.

Peebler is survived by his wife, Toni Worley Peebler, their son Todd, two
older sons from a previous marriage, David and Mark, and three grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, contributions/donations should be made to the Peebler PSP
Research Foundation, 74-923 Highway 111, PMB #226, Indian Wells, CA 92210.

Contact:
Jennifer Norton
Weber Shandwick
212-445-8314
jnorton@webershandwick.com

SOURCE Weber Shandwick Worldwide

Jennifer Norton of Weber Shandwick, +1-212-445-8314,
jnorton@webershandwick.com