Two weeks ago, Ms Wolf jumped out of a Twin Otter airplane at 14,000 feet with a member of the Golden Knights, an elite parachute unit of the US Army. Ms Wolf was showing her own personal brand of solidarity with the Army - after helping her agency, part of Bcom3 Group, land a $95 million Army ad and marketing account in June.

In January 2001, Ms Wolf, a 52-year-old suburban mother of two teenage boys, now chief executive of Leo Burnett USA, will pick up the global reins of Leo Burnett, the shop that does work for such giant advertisers as Philip Morris, General Motors, Procter & Gamble and Kellogg. The famed Chicago agency is one of the 10 largest in the world, with $957.9 million in gross income, and $7.6 billion in billings in 1999.

Ms Wolf's recent airborne experience doesn't surprise Burnett's customers, who say the plain-spoken New Jersey native insists on learning every detail about her clients. "She asks probing questions, shows up at trade shows ... to make sure she stays on top of the business," says Mr Peter Main, executive vice-president of marketing and sales at Nintendo - a Burnett client since 1992. "Her new global role augurs well for continuation of Leo's resurgence."

Ms. Wolf was the first female to head Burnett's US operations; come January she will be the first woman to head the company's world-wide efforts. In her new post she will succeed Mr Roger A Haupt, who continues as Bcom3's chief executive. Ms Wolf also picks up the chairman title from Mr Richard B Fizdale, who remains vice-chairman of Bcom3. Ms Wolf joins the likes of Ms Shelly Lazarus, Ogilvy & Mather's chairman and chief executive, and J. Walter Thompson's Chairman Ms Charlotte Beers, as the ad industry's most senior women.

Not that she thinks this is a big deal. "It doesn't matter whether you're a man or woman; it's about being someone that's passionate about this business and delivering the results," Ms Wolf says. Like Mr Fizdale, who spent 31 years at Leo Burnett, Ms Wolf also is a lifer - having spent the past 22 years of her career at Burnett. Back in 1978, she joined the agency as an assistant account executive on the Nestle account and since then she has worked on a number of other accounts such as Kimberly-Clark and McDonald's. She also has considerable experience on the new business front. In 1996, she was named president of Leo Burnett USA and three years later was elevated to chief executive.

In her new post, Ms Wolf will have global responsibilities but will pay close attention to four of her company's most prestigious accounts: Walt Disney, Coca-Cola, Nintendo and General Motors' Oldsmobile. Client relationships have long been one of her strengths.

"I would call her at home at night, and we'd talk while she was in her kitchen and I was in my kitchen," says Ms Barbara Ifshin, vice-president of Walt Disney World advertising and creative services. "She is very accessible."

Although 1999 was a banner year for the 65-year-old agency - landing Delta Air Lines and Toys 'R' Us - Leo Burnett and Ms Wolfe have weathered some rough times. Back in 1996, two weeks before she was named president of Leo Burnett USA, longtime client United Airlines informed the agency that it was putting its coveted account into review. Marquee clients such as Philip Morris's Miller Lite and the "adult" portion of the McDonald's account eventually defected. Looking back, Ms Wolf says: "Adversity builds character."

Ms Wolf's promotion comes as Bcom3 Group is preparing for its first public offering sometime next year. But she is going to have to move quickly to convince investors that Bcom3 and Leo Burnett can match the wide array of marketing services offered by rivals such as WPP Group's Young & Rubicam and Interpublic Group's McCann-Erickson. Over the past couple of years, most major agencies have made acquisitions in public relations, event planning and direct and interactive marketing. Their strategy: Derive a greater percentage of revenue from "below-the-line" services such as public relations and direct marketing while providing one-stop shopping for their clients.

Although Ms Wolf says Burnett too is moving in that same direction, some say the company has been too conservative about moving into new businesses. For example, Leo Burnett's direct-marketing agency, NorthStar, ranked ninth in 1999 in revenue in the US; its multicultural agency, Lapiz, ranked 20th in gross income in the US while its interactive agency, Giant Step, ranked 37th in revenue in the US.

The Wall Street Journal