LOS ANGELES — She’s been EVP/General Manager of Horizon Media’s Century City-based operation since 2012 and joined the ad buying giant in October 2009 after two years as SVP/Communications and Planning Director at Universal McCann.
In her time at Horizon, she was responsible for a diverse portfolio of client business including Corona Beer, Jack in the Box, STX and ABC.
Today, the media and advertising worlds are mourning the loss of Serena Duff.
Duff’s loss will be felt across the TV advertising landscape. At Horizon, Duff led a team of 300 media, consumer and activation specialists. She ran the Los Angeles office.
Word of her death first became known via social media. On Facebook, NBCUniversal Chairman of Global Advertising & Partnerships Linda Yaccarino paid tribute to Duff on Saturday evening (2/27).
“Generosity, grace, kindness and elegance are just a few words that I think about when I think about Serena Duff,” she wrote. “Those thoughts will now have to become cherished memories. She was a ray of light in my life that I admired beyond words and inspired me to emulate her fully knowing her beauty and style could not be replicated.”
Yaccarino wrote of past “Women’s Leadership Retreat” gatherings, where Duff “became one of the main reasons that annual pilgrimage to CAL-A-VIE became more of a family reunion. My heart aches, my stomach hurts. I am quite sure our sister Serena arrived in Heaven as elegantly as she graced all of our lives.”
A native of Walnut Creek, Calif., Duff began her career following her 1989 graduation from University of California at Davis as a DDB Needham Media Planner. She’d later work in a similar role at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, and as Print Supervisor at ZenithOptimedia from August 1995-August 1996. From there, Duff went to Deutsch, where she served as an associate media director through August 2000. This led to stints at TBWA\Chiat\Day, as a Media Director; and at OMD. From 1999-2005, she served as a Client Communication Director. From 2007-2009, Duff was at Universal McCann.
According to Adweek, Duff was 54 and had suffered for several years from colon cancer. She is survived by her husband, Gary, and two children, Reese and Tripp
