Jackie Bird, well-known industry leader, passes away in Miami. 

Jackie Bird, the well-known advertising and marketing executive who had a distinguished career in the U.S. Hispanic Market, has passed away in a Miami Hospital after her battle with cancer.

Bird was the head of RedBean Society, a strategy advisory firm she founded to serve companies intent on reaching Hispanic and diverse consumers.  She created the company in 2009 to serve her first assignment, a family-owned Puerto Rican line of products that needed re-branding.  Several well-known brands followed bridging their new U.S heritage in a culturally relevant way to connect with Hispanic in a multicultural America.

Hers was a career filled with “firsts”.  At Procter & Gamble in Puerto Rico she had been the first brand manager in the marketing team.  A few years later, with Grey Advertising she became the first woman to be named president by a global ad agency parent company in Latin America, as well as first female member of the agency’s executive committee for the LATAM region.

Bird’s full involvement in U.S. Hispanic took place around 2005 in New York City, where she led the reorganization, repositioning and new growth of WING Latino, Grey’s subsidiary in the U.S.A.  Under her leadership, the company was able to achieve year-over-year 2-digit growth.

Jackie Bird’s commitment to the U.S. Hispanic advertising and marketing industry would become more central in 2007 when her peers elected her president of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) which now operates as the Hispanic Marketing Council (HMC).  She was also an active promoter of women in advertising.

Jackie was married to Robert Shostack, a business man in the fabric business.  She was a proud aunt, great-aunt, godmother, and grandmother to Alex, Marlena, Natalia, Sofia and Hailey.

Editor’s note:  I have known Jackie since our days of high school and college.  My family and the Birds were good friends in Puerto Rico.  She was born in the island from European parents and she was a true Boricua in heart and soul.  Jackie was known for her strategic brain and her marketing intelligence.  She was also highly respected as a leader.  Above all, she was a truly good human being and the industry will remember her contributions but also for her kindness, humanity and sweet smile.  Buen viaje, amiga.