Alison Deeb, MD and COO at Jupiter, takes over the running of the group, but it is understood no appointment has been made to the CEO position Silverstone just vacated. Deeb joined Jupiter in 2004 and become MD of The Jupiter Drawing Room (Johannesburg) in March 2005. She was previously MD of Ogilvy Mather Rightford in Gauteng.
Handover planned for a while
Silverstone says the handover had been planned for a while now. As early as the start of 2010, she had made it clear that she was planning to move on, but stayed after a request from Warsop and WPP, the international network that owns 49% of Jupiter (aka TJDR). Her cut-off date, related to the shareholders, had always been March 2011. Silverstone retains a shareholding in TJDR.
As she left the offices of Jupiter on her last day (Tuesday, 29 March 2011), she told Bizcommunity.com that, after 22 years at Jupiter, she was looking to open a new chapter in her life. Change, while often resisted, is good both for business (referring to Jupiter) and the individual, Silverstone commented.
Silverstone would not elaborate on her future business plans except to say that she has several opportunities and ideas she wants to explore. Not planning to rush into things, Silverstone says she will announce her plans in 4-5 months' time. In the short term, she is leaving for a six-week break to the Karoo.
Proudest achievement
Asked which of her many achievements she is most proud of, Silverstone says driving a team (past and present) that built a truly formidable advertising brand was her proudest achievement. As she started handing over responsibilities, she said, her staff were surprised at the level of engagement Jupiter enjoys with the broader business community.
Silverstone was awarded 2007 Businesswoman of the Year by Entrepreneur, Agency Leader of the Year by Financial Mail's AdFocus in 2007, and was voted Absa Jewish Achiever of the Year, also in 2007. Jupiter was voted Agency of the Decade by Finweek's AdReview in 2010.
Key clients include MTN, Absa and Edcon. TJDR's most lauded moment came when it pitched for three major accounts - those of MTN, Sasol and Absa - in 2006 over three consecutive days, and won all three, adding R1 billion worth of business to the group and doubling staff in just three months.
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