McCann-Erickson WorldGroup has announced two senior appointments in London and New York.
The agency has snatched Australian Brett Gosper from Euro RSCG Worldwide and – confirming recent speculation [WAMN: 04-Aug-03] – quondam British agency wunderkind Rupert Howell.
Gosper, 42, will move to New York to take charge of McCann’s flagship office as general manager, while the 46-year-old Howell will become the London-based president of operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Both begin their new roles in October.
Gosper is currently co-chairman of Euro RSCG in London. Howell’s career credits include co-founding London hotshop HHCL & Partners and a stint as co-chief executive of Chime Communications. However, recent attempts to launch his own consultancy fizzled out before launch [WAMN: 06-Jun-03].
“What I've done before is like climbing Ben Nevis, the biggest mountain in Britain, which is still pretty small,” the former Chime boss commented. “McCann is Everest, the big challenge.”
Howell, who will also become McCann’s chairman in the UK and Ireland, will take over some of the duties of former EMEA boss Ben Langdon, who unexpectedly left the agency in June [WAMN: 26-Jun-03]. He will report to David Warden, the chairman for the region.
The appointments come at an important time for McCann, as it seeks to portray itself as ‘back on track’ after the upheaval prompted by last year’s accounting problems.
The network’s chairman/ceo John Dooner insists the hiring has not finished yet. “There's more to come very shortly,” he promised.
Data sourced from: New York Times; additional content by WARC staff
