Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide ceo Kevin Roberts has been despatched by parent agency Publicis Groupe to inject some ginger into the network’s key operations in New York and Los Angeles/Torrance.
Assuming the title of chairman, Roberts will play a hands-on executive role at the New York operation – not least on the Procter & Gamble account for which he is Publicis’s ‘brand navigator’.
Roberts has already wielded the axe at top level in Manhattan, reducing the shop’s six managing partners to four. Mike Burns, Tom Lom and Tod Seisser retain their positions while the remaining three executive have been switched to other duties.
Migrating from Saatchi’s Torrance, California office – the network’s largest with three hundred staff – is Scott Gilbert (49), former boss of the Torrance operation and now the fourth and most senior New York managing partner.
Saatchi is also playing musical chairs with a number of Torrance staff, all senior personnel on the key Toyota account. The aim is to stem and regain Toyota business lost to other agencies over the last two years.
Data sourced from: AdAge.com; additional content by WARC staff
