Jeffery Tolman

Bio

Specialist in strategy, corporate positioning and marketing having advised blue chip and international businesses, at CEO level, for over twenty five years. At Duke Street, advises on the strategic positioning and marketing of the firm and is available, to the portfolio businesses, for similar advice to help enhance their strategic positioning and differentiation. A graduate majoring in military strategy, went into marketing with Unilever and subsequently entered the communication industry with Ogilvy & Mather, McCann and Saatchi achieving a board position at age 28. In 1979 became a founder partner of the GRC Group, the first single strategy multi-discipline communication group – an approach now universally adopted. With a client list which included Abbey National, Guinness, News International, Rothmans and Tesco, the group was acquired by Saatchi & Saatchi in 1985. As Deputy Chairman of Saatchi and CEO (Strategy), in addition to global account handling responsibilities, accelerated the adoption of single international strategies and the strategic marketing of corporations, including IBM, ICI, and Société Générale de Belgique. In 1992 set up Tolman Cunard, a specialist corporate advisory firm positioned at CEO level. With innovative techniques and a strong commitment to sustainable competitive differentiation, the firm developed a reputation for vanguard thinking and mould-breaking approaches to the integration of strategy and communication. Its clients included Bloomsbury Publishing, Boots, Bryant, Diageo, DTI, Friends Provident, ICI, MoD, Mirror Group, Rexam, Rugby, Securicor, TI and UBS. Independently, now advises a portfolio of blue chip businesses and individuals, and is an Honorary Professor at Warwick Business School.