Ellis Lehman Signs is under new ownership, with Diane Jacobson having purchased the company from previous owner, Ellis Lehman. Jacobson will serve as the Managing Director of the company.
Jacobson had reached the peak of her career managing national and international brands in the motor and retail industries, among others, and managed projects for prestigious brands such as BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Bosch, Caterpillar and locally, Cell C and Edcon to mention but a few. ‘I needed a new challenge and am delighted to have found that at Ellis Lehman Signs. I look forward to taking the legacy forward and propelling it to greater heights.’
Ellis Lehman is a legend in the sign industry who has been running the company that carries his name for the past 28 years. Lehman originally trained as a sign writer in the days where signs were hand painted by artists, and he soon became a significant leader in the industry, being headhunted from Natanya signs in the 1980’s to manage the sign writing division at Brilliant Signs. Together with his partners he secured the first contract for a neon extravaganza at Sun City, which propelled the company’s success for decades to follow. In 1987, he left Brilliant Signs and with his wife Beth, started Ellis Lehman Signs. He developed and maintained a reputation for quality and service and has built a client base across many industries. He has dominated in the branding of sports arenas and in 2010 worked around the clock to brand the many facilities that hosted the World Cup soccer in South Africa.
In 2014, Ellis began negotiating with another longstanding and highly respected professional in the industry. Diane Jacobson has been a top achiever at the best sign manufacturing companies in the South African industry, and worked her way from her first job as graphic designer at Brilliant Signs, where she first met and worked with Ellis, to national sales manager for the Romano Group. ‘I have joked with Ellis for years that one day I would buy his business, but having observed from the outside this was more than light hearted comment. When I approached him with a view to succeeding him, I was delighted that the timing was right for both parties,’ said Jacobson. ‘We have stayed in touch for years, and I always saw value in the professional company that Ellis and Beth built.’
Jacobson and Lehman continue to work together for the next few months to facilitate a smooth transition process and one that ensures that their clients continue to receive the excellent personal service and quality they have enjoyed for decades.
