Satterthwaite became chief executive following the resignation of Rupert Howell. Prior to his appointment as chief executive, Satterthwaite held a number of senior positions within the group including chief executive of HHCL & Partners. Satterthwaite joined HHCL in 1993 after 10 years at sales promotion agency IMP, the last three as chief executive.
Howell left the company last month as talks about the sale of HHCL & Partners to WPP Group were confirmed. Howell had previously denied he was leaving, telling 北京赛车pk10: "I understand why people would ask what happens to me if HHCL joins a network. But HHCL isn't my main job any more and I want to see it sorted internationally and to help the development of Chime when the market hopefully begins growing again next year."
However, Chime and WPP have so failed to seal the deal that will see HHCL become the London operation of WPP's fourth international network, Red Cell.
Last month, Lord Bell was under pressure to move quickly to complete the deal and there was speculation that it might push for a cash sale. Chime has been in talks with WPP for several months about a possible sale of HHCL. The urgency followed the recent collapse in Chime's share price, which was sparked when it admitted in a trading statement that its full-year results will be well below market expectations. Chime saw its shares drop by 74% to just 9p. Today, they are trading at 15.2p.
There are signs of movement though. Last week, HHCL managing director, Nick Howarth, was named as the replacement for the group's chairman Simon Burridge, providing the deal to merge with WPP's Red Cell network goes ahead. It is thought Burridge, who joined HHCL in May 2001 with a remit to redefine and grow the agency, will also take a role within Chime, although it is unclear what this will be.
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