Ellis Verdi

Verdi was born at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and grew up in Switzerland and France until he was teenager and then moved back to New York and attended the Louis D. Brandeis High School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He graduated from high school in 1973. Later that year, he attended Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts where he majored in political science. While in college he was known for keeping tropical fish tanks stocked with small piranhas and screening first-run movies on campus.

After graduating from Brandeis in 1977, Verdi planned on going to law school and moved back to New York where he progressed through a series of sort-term and unfulfilling jobs. His first advertising position was with SSC&B as an assistant media planner.

In 1978 Verdi moved to the firm C&W and worked on Procter & Gamble's Folgers coffee accounts. In 1980 he became a brand manager for American Home Products. In 1982 Verdi became a product manager for PepsiCo working on the different diet brands and Mountain Dew accounts. In 1984, Verdi became vice president of account management for the Grey Group where he stayed for four years.