And so it was that, without any apparent warning, Ray Kelly was called in to Flynn's office on the first Friday of February and, shortly afterwards, was out of Aegis.
It's somewhat ironic that Kelly is leaving just as Carat overtakes Zenith in the UK billings league. Both by his own efforts and more recently of those he hand-picked to follow him, Kelly's role in what many thought an impossible task -- catching Zenith -- has been critical.
Although he may have swapped the day-to-day running of Carat UK for the corporate stage at Aegis a few years ago, there's no denying that Carat UK, one of the undoubted jewels in Aegis' crown, is Kelly's creation. Just for the record, 10 years ago TMD Carat, as it then was, billed £412m, and Zenith £452m.
Today, Carat bills £566m, Zenith £506m. Some changearound.
So why did he go? As anyone who knows Kelly well can tell you, he's a gruff, argumentative, speak-his-mind kind of man. However, the arguments around the Aegis board table were not about strategy, but about competence.
In a nutshell, people say, Kelly didn't think Flynn was doing a good job. And being Kelly, he would not have been able to keep quiet about it and nor would he have tried too hard to hide his belief that his operation, Northern Europe, was carrying the company.
In those circumstances, if Flynn was not to look ridiculous, he had to assert his authority. It is also possible that Flynn may have seen Kelly as a potential threat to his job. I think it's unlikely that Kelly wanted it himself -- although he might have when Flynn first came in. From what I know of him, Kelly would have hated the constant travelling that the job entails. It was about as much as he could bear to cover Northern Europe. He would also, I suspect, have hated fronting Aegis to the City -- that kind of bowing and scraping just isn't him. But, from where Flynn sat, he might have believed Kelly was agitating for a boardroom putsch. So he eliminates the thorn in his side.
Nevertheless, it seems odd to me that Aegis can contemplate life without someone who has as much history with the company as Kelly. He's been there for 20-odd years, through the darkest days, and has been instrumental in making the group what it is today.
As for Kelly, the word is he's perfectly relaxed. In his early 50s, he's wealthy enough not to have to worry about money or the prospect of working for someone he doesn't like or respect. He'll take six months out, and come the autumn there'll be more than a few media operations who could use his knowledge and experience.