Obit: Gene DeWitt, Dead At 65

Gene DeWittGene DeWitt, a former top agency media director and one of the most successful independent media services agency entrepreneurs, died Thursday, following a four-year battle with cancer. He was 65.

DeWitt, a fixture of industry conferences and a pundit on media trends, may be best known for founding DeWitt Communications, which was acquired by Publicis Groupe in 2000 and combined with other operations to form Optimedia International, one of the world's largest and most successful media networks.

Previously, he was a top media executive at Interpublic's McCann-Erickson and Omnicom's BBDO. Over the years, he worked for an array of blue-chip clients including AT&T, BMW, British Airways, Coca-Cola, Chrysler, Discovery Channels, DuPont, General Electric, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, L'Oreal, McDonald's, Pepsi Cola, Sears and The Wall Street Journal.

Most recently, he was founder and chairman of DeWitt Media Options, and had become an avid blogger on media industry developments on "The Media Age" at www.genedewitt.com.

DeWitt is survived by his wife Dianne DeWitt, his daughter Kate DeWitt, four stepdaughters, and a grandson.

Services will be held at Saint Bartholomew's Church in Manhattan on Jan. 27 at 3 p.m.

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2 comments about "Obit: Gene DeWitt, Dead At 65".
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  1. Paul Benjou from The Center for Media Management Strategies, January 26, 2009 at 9:15 a.m.

    A mentor and a true gentleman, Gene will be missed by those whose lives he touched.

  2. Dorothy Ebersole-coutsakis from Vista Court Reporting, February 18, 2009 at 11:24 p.m.

    I cannot believe that he is gone. We worked at Rosenfeld Sirowitz & Lawson when we were both young and the world was open to us. Will miss him, heartfelt condolences to his family. He will be missed.

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