Laurel Cutler

She was the daughter of Aaron Smith Cutler and Dorothy Glaser Cutler. A proud alumna of Wellesley College, she majored in philosophy and was voted “second wittiest girl” in her class.

After a stint as a cub reporter at the Washington Post, she launched her career in advertising, where she became one of the original “Mad Women.” She started as a copywriter at J. Walter Thompson and moved quickly through a series of executive roles at Fletcher, Richards, Calkins & Holden; McCann Erickson; FCB/Leber Katz Partners; and Fallon. In 1988, she became Chrysler Corporation’s first vice president of consumer affairs—a post she held concurrently with her senior leadership position at Leber Katz.

She served on the board of directors of True North Communications and Hannaford Brothers. She also served on the Advisory Committee on Public Issues of the Advertising Council and the board of the Advertising Education Foundation.

Laurel was widely celebrated for her many accomplishments. She received the Matrix Award for Women in Communications (1985), Advertising Woman of the Year (1985), the Wellesley Alumni Achievement Award (1990), and was the advertising industry’s first female Man of the Year (1995). In 1987 Inc. magazine called her “Madison Avenue’s most powerful woman,” and in 1990 she was named one of the 50 most powerful women in America by the Ladies’ Home Journal. In 2011 she was inducted in the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Fame.

She spent 12 happy years married to Theodore J. Israel, who preceded her in death. And she is survived by her three children--Jonathan Bernstein (Catherine Lovvoll), Amy Bernstein (Nanette Bisher), and Seth Bernstein (Toni Bernstein)—six grandchildren, and her great granddaughter.

A memorial service will take place on December 8, at 4pm, at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel, 1076 Madison Ave., NY, NY. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a gift to Wellesley College in memory of Laurel Cutler, class of ’46. Mail it to the Wellesley College, Development Office, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481. Or call 781-283-2802, or make your gift online at www.wellesley.edu/giving.