Wieden & Kennedy’s London office has been dealt a second blow with
the resignation of the planning director, Alison Hoad, who has quit to
rejoin Lowe Howard-Spink as head of planning.
It is the agency’s second recent senior management departure in as many
months. W&K’s creative director, Nick Gill, left in October to join
Bartle Bogle Hegarty as a copywriter.
Creative differences between Gill and the co-creative director, Susan
Hoffman, were rumoured to have led to his departure. At the time of his
move he said: ’I wasn’t right for them and they weren’t right for
me.’
However, Hoad is adamant her move has nothing to do with any
dissatisfaction with W&K. She said: ’Things are going very well at W&K.
This is the only planning job in London that would have enticed me to
leave.’
She said she preferred the challenge of helping Lowes adapt to the
changing demands of the advertising industry, than that of building up a
new London agency. She will take up her new position at the start of
next year.
Mike Perry, W&K’s managing director, said he expected to fill the post
quickly. ’People were crying out for that job,’ he commented. ’We
already have people in mind. There is tons of talent queuing up to get
involved.’
At W&K, Hoad worked on the Nike World Cup advertising and its ’run
London’ campaign. She joined in mid-April, two weeks after the agency
launched.
Before that, she spent nine months travelling but had worked as a board
planner at Lowes between 1994 and 1997.
Her return to Lowes comes as its deputy chairman, John Lowery,
relinquishes control of the agency’s planning.
Instead, he is going to concentrate on liaising with senior clients and
on new business.
Meanwhile Lowes has appointed Barrie Brien finance director. He replaces
Richard Jameson, who left to join DMB&B a month ago. Brien joins from
Saatchi & Saatchi New York where he was senior finance director.
