• March 25, 2009

Jon Schneider, EVP and director of client service for the New York office of MRM Worldwide, died suddenly on March 22, at his home in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Schneider, 52, was a brand advertising and digital/direct marketing veteran, joined MRM Worldwide in April 2006. In addition to managing client services for MasterCard, Intel, ExxonMobil, Bertolli, Nikon, Verizon and the U.S. Army, he was also instrumental in the agency's win of the Diageo brands, Crown Royal and Captain Morgan. He was also leading efforts on a new pharmaceutical practice at the agency.

Schneider joined MRM from Digitas in New York, where he had been vice president, marketing director, working on Virgin Mobile and the B2B account for American Express. He was with Digitas for eight years, leading eCRM and digital marketing efforts for the wireless business (Cingular and Virgin Mobile at different times), and financial services accounts (American Express, Dunn & Bradstreet).

"Jon and I go back a long way," said MRM Worldwide CEO Reuben Hendell, who worked with Schneider for many years when the two were at Digitas. "I'll miss his clear-eyed, no-nonsense assessments, which were more often than not delivered with warmth and his signature wry humor. I'm proud to say that over the years he became a friend in addition to a trusted colleague, and I think I speak for the entire agency and the clients that have gotten to know Jon, in saying that he will be very sorely missed. Our hearts and prayers are with his family."--Tanya Irwin